Human
by Alumina
Summary: When seven items come together they can overpower the Tai Chi King. The Rogues are after them, hoping to give them to Mishka once he is revived. One of the attacks leaves Rai weakened, and they come to the decision of going after the items as well. Jakata has the ability to sense the items, but the Rogues want him for another purpose.
1. Chapter 1

**Here's Human, the fanfiction I've been working on for a while now. For those of you who read the teaser I posted on April 29** **th** **last year, please note there has been some changes.**

 **This is technically a sequel to my other Tai Chi Chasers fanfiction (which as of posting this is only on chapter two) because it goes along with the anime. So there's going to be a lot of spoilers for that and possibly major season three spoilers.**

 **Special credit goes to ArchxDeath for helping me with the names of the Chil-heng.**

 **I do not own Tai Chi Chasers.**

He remained in a sleep-like state between the realms of life and death, barely aware of what was going on around him or how long it had been since he was last alive. Only one thing kept him from going to the realm of death: This desire for revenge.

Many, many years ago, days into the first war of the Clans of the Sky and Earth

Dark clouds blotted out the sun against the blood-red sky, the color matching the ground where the not so far cries of three armies fighting came. Two figures stood on the weather-beaten balcony, watching beyond the edges of the mountainous ridge that protected the small kingdom, watching where the worst of the fighting so far took place, their fear growing as it got closer and closer.

She turned to him, tears in her eyes, "Why do they have to fight? If they would just leave the Sky-Earth Clan alone…."

"Some of the Sky-Earth want their Clan to be the only one to exist because they believe they're superior. It's why they want to destroy the Chil-heng," he said.

That Day had happened when he was very young. All he knew was one of the Sky-Earth had summoned the power of all of the Tai Chi of the Sky and Earth, nearly destroying Suhn in the year and a half that had followed. The earthquakes had been powerful enough to split Suhn in two; without leaving a path to travel between.

"They won't stop unless the items disappear, or…" he shook his head, smiling in effort to comfort her, "That won't happen." He walked with her into the room behind them.

Seven pedestals formed a wide circle, surrounding the emblem of the Tai Chi of the Sky and Earth. Lying on each pedestal was one of the Chil-heng. Resting against the wall stood a blue stone tablet inscribed with all one thousand characters, the only one of its kind, created when the first and last of the Sky-Earth clan had attempted becoming the Tai Chi King.

As he stepped onto the emblem it softly lit. They stood in the center.

She turned to him, "Can't we just take them somewhere safe?"

"The Sky-Earth still live in both territories. We won't be able to hide them for long, unless…" he turned to her, "Can you summon Time for me?"

She nodded and held up a hand. A tiny character lit on the stone and a vertical rift appeared before them, slowly widening into a doorway that led to a vast space of endless darkness and pinpoints of light. The Chil-heng that rested on the pedestals slowly lifted and floated inside.

"But without the Chil-heng the Sky-Earth could still be in the future," she said.

"Maybe, but by then history will have long forgotten about the Chil-heng, and maybe all three clans will be at peace," he wanted to add, "If it is like that, than we can finally be together," but he didn't want to make her hopeful. Likely, in the future, the Sky-Earth Law would still exist, even if the clan was long gone and, like the Chil-heng, forever forgotten about.

She turned to him, "But you're their Guardian… are you leaving?"

"It's the only way to keep them safe and to stop the war…" he said quietly.

"But…"

He hugged her, "I'll come back for you when it's safe." He couldn't risk taking her to an even more dangerous time. She would be safe here until he came back. After all, he only had to find one of the Earth Clan that was quite adept with Time, and they could bring him back to the instant he had left.

She sadly nodded and stepped back, avoiding eye contact. He stepped into the doorway, the action causing ribbons of colored energy to explode into reality around him, each representing what could have been and what could be. He turned back to the vanishing doorway to wave goodbye.

Next to her stood two warriors, both from the Sky-Earth Clan. One of them stepped forward, summoning Sword and slashed through the doorway, shredding it, the last sight being of her looking as if she was about to cry.

 _No!_ The ribbons of energy burst out of control, a black one entangling around him. _Why Mari, why?_

Twenty one years before Present day, three years before the last war.

"There _can't_ be Hybrids! You know that!"

He ignored her, gathering a leather-bound book and several cards into his bag, "I have to find them," he packed the final item, the Marionette card.

She watched him cross the room to the door, "But our laws, let alone the legends…."

He opened the door, allowing a gust of bitter cold snowy wind to come in, "You've sided with the Tigeroids. I hoped you would understand. This is the only way to stop all war, Shirona," he disappeared into the night.

"Iseul!" Shirona ran to the door, calling her husband's name over and over, not even able to see his rapidly fading footprints anymore.

"Mom?" Shirona turned to see her ten-year-old son standing in the dimly lit hallway, sleepily rubbing his eyes, "What's wrong?"

Shirona smiled, closing the door. "Nothing." She wasn't completely surprised she didn't see Iseul in the snowstorm. Their son inherited his white hair, after all. It did make her wonder if their next child would have her brown hair. She was hoping it was going to be a girl, but didn't tell anyone yet, not wanting to get her son's hopes up for a baby brother, no matter how much he said "he didn't care if he got a little sister". She led him back to bed, "We're going to visit a friend tomorrow, okay?"

He nodded sleepily.

If they could safely stay with anyone, even if there was a war, and to prevent Iseul's plan, it was Shirona's friend and mentor: Loroa.

Present day, eight years after the last war.

Cold blue light lit the forest eerily, casting long skeletal shadows of the bare branches. He continued on, stopping only to listen to his surroundings or when Sight shifted in her sleep and he had to reposition her so she wouldn't fall of his shoulder. She had helped him get very far today, so he wasn't going to ask the little cat for further instructions. He would stop for the night once he found a suitable campsite. Judging by how cool the night air was, it was already late. It would be best if he reached his destination the next day. He had waited many years for this. Another night wouldn't matter.

He stopped, "I know you're there."

"This is a good place to rest," Leon's voice came from above, "If you start mid-morning tomorrow you'll get there by early afternoon."

"I don't need your advice, Leon. Only what I asked you to do."

"I'll find her. Remember, I'm expecting It in return. Like you, there's someone I want to save," he activated a Tai Chi and his presence disappeared.

He would find It tomorrow. The Rogues wouldn't be interested in the area if It, or one of the set, wasn't around. Tomorrow, he would find Luka and get answers.

* * *

Phoebe rested her arms on the wooden bridge's railing, staring down at her reflection in the moonlit pond, the reflection occasionally being disturbed by the slightest ripple. Being out here wasn't as enjoyable as she had originally thought. She had to keep taking off her thick-rimmed glasses off to wipe away fog and to blow on them so they weren't so cold against her face. It was also colder than she had expected, almost enough to make her want to go back inside. _Almost_.

It was one of the few places where she could be alone and relax when she got too stressed or distraught. It's where she went almost every night since the day Jakata had died eight years ago, more often than she liked wondering if she could have done anything to save him.

All she really knew was Mishka had used the Switch Tai Chi to invade Jakata's body and control him, possibly for days or even weeks. Jakata had wanted to avenge the deaths of his brothers and sisters. He had only been able to do so when he broke free of Mishka's control long enough to use the Return Tai Chi, a fatal last resort that did free him and avenge his team, but it reverted him back to his Doll state. Before he died he gave his cards to her, saying she would need them more, and gave her his Activator because while he had been controlled he had very badly damaged hers.

Ever since she had been trying to find someone with a Life card. Even though Rai was the Tai Chi King he wasn't able to revive Jakata (and, after hearing Luka comment "Rai would gloat about it and use it against them for the rest of their lives if he actually managed to succeed", she had stopped asking).

Her thoughts were interrupted when a _boom!_ came from the house. She sighed. Three years ago she would have been concerned, but now that her five-year-old niece took every chance she got to take someone's Activator –it really didn't matter whose it was, as long as she had it and it worked- and Explosion card, it became a normal part of her life.

Nothing more than a _boom!_ and a cloud of colorful smoke ever happened, but lately Yuna had been constantly asking what else the card could do besides making a really loud noise and make pretty fireworks. She must have taken Rai's Activator again. He _never_ kept track of it when he visited. And he often got tricked into giving Yuna is Explosion card (sometimes, even a few times in one day).

The Tigeroids were visiting for a few days, this being one of the rare times they were all together instead of at least one of them on a family trip or visiting other friends. Rai sometimes went back to Earth for that reason, and every time he came back he bragged of how he defeated one of his friends named Kyo in a lot of Earth games he didn't explain very well (Tori would explain them to her. She still didn't understand what the game about throwing a ball through a hoop was about). Every time Rai's "victories" became more and more pointless because he never seemed to lose.

Occasionally when the Tigeroids visited they would spar with Luka, especially ever since he had started training younger warriors, like their mentor, Loroa, had done. Most of those warriors left after only two or three sessions, instead opting for the lessons at the palace. Phoebe didn't understand this. Jahara's oldest brother, Roman, gave the lessons and he was a lot scarier than Luka.

A brisk wind sent dead leaves scattering across the yard, several strays ending up floating across the pond. Phoebe shivered and pulled her jacket tighter. She glanced around as a ghostly blue light began to bathe the world around her. She looked up at the moon, watching it slowly turn an eerie shade of blue. …Maybe it wouldn't be as creepy inside…. As she took a few steps away from the bridge something glinted at the pond's edge. She hesitated and went to look at it, frowning, just barely able to see it.

 _Was that…?_ She freed it from the mud. _A Tai Chi card? Here?_ She held it in the moonlight, staring hard at the little character in the top left corner, eventually recognizing it as the blue Technique-type. The card looked as if it had been there for a while, and mud covered the character. She scooped some cold water onto it and scrubbed her fingernails against the mud, repeating the process until patches of the card shown through. She couldn't get all of the mud off, just enough to identify the card. She stared at what could be seen of the character.

* * *

Rai sat at the table, arms folded, glaring at the Explosion card that sat before him on the table, it looking as if it was mocking him, laughing at him because it was the cause of his disheveled hair and messed up clothes.

Luka sat across from him, "I told you not to give it to her."

"She said she was going to tell me a secret."

"That doesn't mean you should give it to her," he looked up as Jahara walked in from the hallway.

"She's sleeping," Jahara said, "I told everyone what happened."

Rai looked up, pouting, "Miya isn't concerned? She's not even going to make sure I'm not fatally wounded? She doesn't care that I'm going to die?!"

Jahara shrugged, "Not really, if you can sit there and complain about it than you're obviously not in any pain," she looked him up and down, "You look terrible."

Rai stood up, picking up the Explosion card, "I'm going to bed." He walked down the hallway that led to the guest rooms.

Jahara sat down, combing her fingers through her past shoulder length, wavy hair. She gave an annoyed look to Luka, "Did Yuna talk you into giving your Activator to her again?"

"No—"

Jahara narrowed her eyes and tossed an Activator to him. "There are only three people here that have those Activators. I keep mine out of Yuna's reach and Phoebe's is beat up."

Luka stared hard at it and looked up, "That isn't mine." He set his on the table.

"What?"

They stared at the unknown Activator. It looked as if it had been very badly damaged and gotten repaired, judging by the still barely visible cracks in its casing and along the edges of the screen, and it looked like the top half had been snapped off at one point. Luka slowly reached out and poked it, quickly withdrawing his hand. They jumped when the top and bottom half extended.

Jahara glanced at Luka, her voice barely above a whisper, _"What are we going to do with it?"_

Luka's voice matched hers, _"I don't know."_

They continued to stare at it for a moment, flinching when they were sure it moved. Jahara carefully tapped it, and slowly exhaled with relief when nothing happened. _"I think it's dead now."_

Luka's gaze flickered between the Activator and Jahara, _"Are you sure?"_

She hesitated, _"You pick it up first."_

" _Why?!"_

" _Because if it still lives you'll kill it."_

Luka reluctantly picked it up at one end, and nothing else happened he closed it, nodding. _"It's dead."_

" _That's good."_

" _Why are you two whispering?"_

Luka and Jahara jumped, yelping. Luka threw the Activator up at Tori's head. "Don't do that!"

The impact was hard enough to knock Tori over. He slowly sat up, blinking, "The stars are spinning…."

Jahara got up, "Do you want me to get Miya?"

"No, I'm fine. Miya needs to help the spaceship," he reached around for his glasses, seeming unaware of the bump that was forming on his forehead.

They watched as he kept searching the same spot on the wall over and over. Jahara picked up his glasses and set them in Tori's hands, "Are you still seeing stars?"

Tori blinked a few times, "Yeah, but they're not shiny anymore."

"Where is the spaceship?"

"It's gone now. My head hurts," he got up, "Why were you whispering?"

Jahara set the unknown Activator on the table, "It's not important. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, mostly, maybe. I got up to get a glass of water. I'm not that scary, am I?"

"You just startled us," Jahara said. Tori had gotten his growth spurt and was taller than Luka now. No one was used to it yet and kept forgetting how tall he was.

"Phoebe's lamp is on, but she isn't in her room. Is she okay?"

"I saw her before," Jahara said. She turned to Luka, "She asked a weird question. She wanted to know if it's true when someone dies loved ones that already passed on come for them. She wanted to know if Jakata would come for her."

"What?" Luka stood up. Phoebe wasn't _that_ depressed, was she? "Where is she?"

"She went outside about twenty minutes ago."

Luka turned, taking only a few steps and bumped into Phoebe as she came back in. He hugged her, "Don't do that again."

"Do _what?_ "

He let go and took a step back, "Ask about what happens when you die and then leave."

Phoebe stared up at him through her fogged up glasses, her expression flat, "Oppa, I'm not suicidal. It's Sora you have to worry about. She always thinks _everything_ ends in death. I just wanted to go somewhere quiet…"

Oh, right… "Did you have the dream again?" Phoebe nodded, looking away. For the past eight years she often had the same dream -more like nightmare- of the day Jakata had died, and over the past three years it had begun to get more and more vivid. Luka would have told her "Jakata did what he thought was best" if he hadn't given up on that two years earlier, when Phoebe had stopped believing him.

Phoebe looked up at him, a light in her eyes he hadn't seen in a long time, "I found this outside," she showed him a Tai Chi card that had faded with long-term sun and water damage, portions of it covered in dry mud. The character on it was…. She looked back at it, smiling, "It can bring Jakata back, right?"

 _No, not this…._ "Phoebe, Life can only be used by powerful Tigeroids."

"I can ask Rai, then," she said, "He said he would help if I ever needed him to, and at least now he can't brag about activating Life without the card."

 _How was he going to tell her…?_ "Phoebe," he said slowly, avoiding eye contact, "The barcode is damaged. Even if it wasn't, and Rai wanted to, it won't work. Jakata can't come back," he regretted his next words as he said them, "He's gone."

Phoebe stared at him, stunned, tears coming to her eyes. "He isn't gone!" She ran to her room, sobbing.

"Phoebe!" He didn't mean it like that….

"I'll go talk to her," Tori said, already leaving.

Luka nodded, sitting back down, "Thank you." All he would do right now would only upset Phoebe even more…. He held his head in his hands, "I'm a terrible brother."

"You're not," Jahara said, "Phoebe took it harder from you than she would have anyone else. If Rai told her she would have gotten angry with him, but if Finn would have she would have gotten upset. Just wait until she calms down. We can ask Finn about it tomorrow."

Luka lifted his head, "We're going to encourage Phoebe to break one of the Doll Laws and the Revival Law?"

"Those only apply to certain conditions. I'm sure if you ask the princess she'll be fine with it," she smiled.

"What? No, Jakata is worse than Rai, he's too wild. Laura knows that."

"If Jakata can be revived, than you can worry about it. If he can't, then you won't have to. Maybe if Jakata would have lived he would be much calmer now, if whatever led to his death could have been prevented."

"I'm not asking Rai to use the Time Tai Chi for that."

Jahara sighed, "It was worth a try. Just promise me this: If Jakata can't come back, at least let Phoebe get a puppy."

"…And if I don't Yuna will be asking for one."

Jahara nodded, smiling, "Exactly."

* * *

Phoebe sat on her bed, holding Jakata's Doll form in her arms. She kept him in case she would be able to revive him someday. She had even took him with her in the fight against Diga. Since then she had Jakata sit near her pillow. His presence often helped calm her. She had even made a tiny friendship bracelet for him that was made of the same flame-proof material as his clothes and even matched the colors and pattern of them. She had a matching bracelet, though she wore it on the right wrist.

Eight years ago, after the war, Phoebe had tried to find the rest of Jakata's team, his brothers and sisters, so he could, at least, be with them to an extent. Rai had even used the Time Tai Chi to try to locate them multiple times, but he always came back confused. At one point he offered just to go back in time and bring Jakata back, but Luka had immediately been against it because it could have led to drastic changes, including Mishka and possibly even Diga still being alive.

"Phoebe?" Tori stood in the doorway, "I don't think Luka meant it…."

"Than what did he mean?!" she looked up at him, tears in her eyes, "Why doesn't he want Jakata to come back?!"

"Well…"

Phoebe got up, setting Jakata on the bed, her shaking grip on the Life card tightening. "He can't be dead!" Some of her tears splashed onto the card. The card lit up and floated out of Phoebe's hand and over Jakata, pouring light over him, causing his current form to grow.

* * *

The moon still lit the dark world with eerie light, wispy clouds floated in front, dimming shadows and causing them to twitch, startling Kyu. Normally, he would be fine with night travelling. But he was late, and it was likely Rita and The Nameless One were waiting. Hopefully one of them had completed the assignment… He jogged up the short hill where they were waiting.

They all wore identical dark cloaks. For some reason their leader didn't want any of them to know any of the identities of the others, instead only knowing each other by false names and their voices. Kyu wore the chain necklace he had been given. It was a pendent of metal and chains twisted into a shape that resembled a dream-catcher, the Tai Chi character for Life in the center.

One of the two sighed, "You're so slow." Rita. Of course. The Nameless One didn't even notice him, just staring off at the edge of the forest. Rita pulled her cloak tighter, shivering.

"I had something important to do. You didn't find Master Mishka yet?"

"No," Rita said, "Like I told you, he's far away from here."

"All I know is that the prisoner said another Doll called Jakata was the one that killed him with the Return Tai Chi."

Rita twitched, "… I know that," she said, her voice quieter.

"Tela and Dan already searched and didn't find him. He has to be around here, or…" Kyu hesitated, "Yami will be told to find him."

"No! We need him alive!"

"The only way we're going to find him is if we or one of the other Chil-heng gets near him."

"…But we don't know where it is."

"Unless either of you have a better idea of where to look…" he glanced at The Nameless One, who probably had not even taken the slightest interest in the conversation, "I thought so…" he stared down at the pendent, watching as it began to light and softly pulse, "…The legend…"

"That can't be," Rita said, "It's only responding to another Chil-heng. We just need to eliminate who has it."

"But if the legend is true and the Guardian is still alive…."

"The Guardian has been dead since the first war. That's why we need to find someone else to control the Chil-heng," she turned to The Nameless One, "Isn't that right?" No response, "You should be called The Silent One."

"Rita, we don't know if there's a new one or not. If there is, and we try to take a Chil-heng from him…."

She shrugged, "We'll just capture him and bring him with us."

Kyu turned to The Nameless One, "You will help us if it comes to that, right?" He flinched when the other turned, "We'll let you have most of the reward!" He slowly relaxed when he saw The Nameless One had turned only to point at the edge of the forest, where a house stood next to a pond.

* * *

Jakata blinked a few times, wincing. He slowly sat up, barely looking around, having difficulty focusing his clouded eyes.

Phoebe stared at him, "Jakata…" she hugged him, which made him go stiff.

Tori stood several steps behind Phoebe, watching. He glanced at the doorway. Should he go get Luka? Jakata was dangerous, and Tori couldn't fight him alone, but… Jakata really didn't look like he was a threat. He just seemed so… indifferent. A lot more than Finn, even.

Phoebe took a step back, smiling, "Jakata, I—"

Jakata didn't look up at her.

She frowned and set a hand on his arm, "Jakata?" He wasn't sick, was he?

Jakata blinked and looked up at her, looking confused. "Is that my name?" He stared at her a little longer. Recognition flickered over his face as the clouds cleared from his eyes.

"You don't remember?" He looked so tired….

He shook his head.

Maybe he would feel better the next day, but… He didn't look that healthy, and it would be understandable if he didn't know where he was. Before that moment Phoebe didn't know it was possible to look disoriented. She turned to Tori, "Could you go get Miya?"

"Sure, but Luka will ask about you, but…."

"He'll understand."

From what Tori remembered, Luka _really_ didn't like Jakata, so it would be very unlikely that he would just "understand". So truthful lying would be useful here. "I'll just tell him you want to talk to Miya because she's a girl close to your age. He won't ask so many questions." After that he would tell Jahara. Jahara was very good at giving bad news to Luka. Rai had done it many times before, so why would this be any different? He hesitated, watching as Jakata finally began to take a slow interest in his surroundings.

Jakata slowly blinked. _He was so tired… so hard to focus… But where was…? Behind him?_ Jakata turned, dully staring out the window behind him. A shadow or a really short tree or something was moving. Whatever it was did something to cause a character of some kind to float in midair. His eyes widened and he leaped forward, taking Phoebe down with him.

* * *

"It's been fifteen minutes," Jahara said, "Phoebe should have calmed down by now."

"She's wanted to revive him for eight years…." Luka said, "If Gherba was still alive…."

"Would that make a difference?"

"If he created Jakata he can probably revive him. Or…"

"We're not going to replace Jakata with a version you want. Phoebe will notice. She loved him for who he was."

The hyperactivity could be at least lessened, and all of the other qualities Rai had…. But she was right… Phoebe had told him all Jakata knew was fighting, so maybe if he had been taught better….

"He's too dangerous. Even if he can come back—"

 _Boom!_

They stood up quickly. Jahara turned to him, "That came from Phoebe's room!"

Luka turned, activating Pierce, the arrowheads narrowly missing three cloaked figures that began to materialize from a Move card. The card's owner, the tallest of the three, stepped back. The other two turned, the one with the strange, softly pulsing necklace spoke, "You said you were going to help."

"You know he never does," the other, a female, said, "He's a liar."

" _What happened?!"_ Rai ran into the room, in his pajamas, gripping the end of his boomerang, glancing around wildly. The one with the necklace twitched and took a step back.

Finn followed Sena in, holding his Ice card. Donha ran in soon after, carrying Yuna (who surprisingly was still asleep).

"What happened?" Rai asked again, and pointed an end of the boomerang at the intruders, "Who are they?"

Luka didn't turn, watching the intruders, "Check on Phoebe."

The one without the necklace laughed, "You won't have to worry about her," she said.

" _What?"_

"If you don't want anyone else to die tonight than give us the Hwagoyu."

Jahara lightly touched Luka's shoulder, keeping her voice low so only those near her could hear, "We can look later." She looked at the intruders, "We don't know what that is," she glanced at Donha and mouthed _"Go."_

The only one of the intruders that noticed Donha leave was the one that stood in the back, and he didn't seem to care that much about it. His attention was mostly between Finn and the other one without the necklace.

"You have it here," the one with the necklace said, his voice deeper than before, taking a card out, "Give it to us, and we'll leave peacefully. If not—"

The one that stood in the back cleared his throat warningly.

"Careful," the one without the necklace said, "The Hwagoyu is here," she said, "As my … friend… said, we will leave when you give it to us."

Rai stepped forward, shoving his boomerang into Sena's hands and got a card out, "We're not giving whatever it is to you. We don't even know what it looks like. What does it look like?"

Sena sighed, _"Something with fire."_

"Yes," the one without the necklace said, "It will have the character for Fire on it."

"You don't know what it looks like, either?" Sena asked. Finn stepped closer to her.

She would have already gotten one of her Tai Chi cards out, but something about Finn was _off._ Before he had acted like he had sensed something that temporarily bothered him, but now…. _"Do you know her?"_

Finn nodded slowly.

The two intruders were facing the one standing in the back. The one with the necklace turned to the other, "I don't think he knows either, Rita."

"We'll just have to fight until they tell us," she activated a card, her Activator hidden by her cloak sleeve.

Finn activated Ice and froze the attack before it could form. The one with the necklace activated a Fire card, creating multiple fireballs and throwing them. Luka activated Water, putting out the flames.

Rita glared at the one that stood in the back, "Help us. If we fail this…."

In response he silently activated a card. Rai looked around. "Nothing happened."

"We're completely sealed off from the outside world," Rita said, motioning toward the window. A transparent wall outside extended past the window. She activated Insect.

Rai activated Fire, having large fireballs fly all over, "Ha! Your attacks won't – _Luka!_ That's _my_ card!"

Luka glared at him disapprovingly, holding Fire away from Rai, "Use controlled attacks." If he could have held it out of Rai's reach like he used to, he would. But now that Rai was about an inch taller than him…. So he gave it to Sena.

"But—"

Finn activated Ice, creating a barrier that repelled an attack from an Arrow card. It didn't deflect against the next blow as easily. Multiple arrows covered in flame slowly came through the melting shield.

Rai glared at Luka, "How come he's allowed to use Fire and I'm not?!"

Luka activated Water to repel more Fire Arrows, "I don't need you to set my house on fire again."

"Sure, blame _me_ for that _one_ time!"

Jahara activated Thread, binding Rita's hand and Cardholder together. More thread bound the other intruders' arms to their sides. Miya slowly came in, holding her Thread card, "Two Tigeroids or two Dragonoids?"

"One of each," Jahara said, "The one in the back is either another Dragonoid or a Hybrid."

"Dragonoid," Finn said.

"All right," Miya said, "Finn, surround them with Ice, enough to slow the Dragonoids. I'll use Soothe on them after."

Finn just watched, his gaze flickering back and forth between the intruders.

Rai looked at Luka, "Can I at least trap them or send them away?"

"Just get rid of the barrier outside."

Rai lifted his hand and the character for the Dragonoid Break card appeared, although instead of shattering the wall it disintegrated Thread. "…Oops."

Rita took a step back, "How was he able to do that?"

Rai smirked smugly, "Because _I'm_ the Tai Chi King."

" _Rai!"_ Everyone else, especially Luka, glared at him.

"The Hybrid!" Rita turned to the one in the back, "He's the one!"

Luka watched, frowning, at the card choice. _Move? That was only useful for–_ His hands let his Activator and cards drop. _What?!_ Like the others, the character was on the back of his hands. The Move symbol on Rai winked out of existence.

Rai picked up his Fire card, "Now I'll—"

Rita threw a black cube at Rai, it stopping in midair above him, creating an energy field around him. Rai fell to his knees, crying out as a glowing aura engulfed him and was absorbed into the cube. Tiny Tai Chi characters decorated the cube and it floated back to its owner.

"You're not longer Tai Chi King, Hybrid."

The Move character vanished, allowing mobility again. Miya helped Rai sit up, "Are you okay?"

Rai blinked at her, swaying, "Is this real life?"

Miya looked up at Sena, "Stall them with Darkness."

Sena nodded and activated the card, creating a pitch-black dome, "Not even Light can destroy it."

Small lit cracks spider-webbed over the dome and it shattered. The one in the back held his Cage card and put it away.

Sena took a step back. "…How?"

"Sena, help me get Rai out of here," Miya said. She stood up, almost stumbling from Rai leaning against her. Sena nodded and helped her.

Finn glared at the intruders, for an instant his eyes flashed red. Jahara glanced at him, "Finn, it's okay."

Rita glared at the one in the back, "If you won't at least attack then go and get the Hwagoyu."

He turned away from her, facing he one with the necklace, watching as Lightning was activated.

The lightning bolt arched up into the air and split into three. Finn activated Lightning, his wildly sparking bolts hit the thinner, tamer ones. The thin ones tore through and hit their targets, knocking them to the floor.

Getting hit didn't hurt nearly as much as Luka thought it would, but maybe that was because he had trained with Finn and had gotten used to it… His Activator laid on the floor a short distance away.

"Luka…" Jahara said from somewhere nearby, her voice weak, "I can't move."

 _What?!_ He could barely even look around.

Rita laughed, "Don't worry. You'll only be stunned for about an hour."

"Rita!"

"He's still moving?!"

Finn struggled to stand, using the table for support, shaking badly.

"How…? Rita…?"

"Another Doll. Just hit him with Fire and Arrow," she activated Insect. All three characters lit at the same time.

A thin layer of ice spread across the floor, causing the intruders to slip and the characters to burst into particles of light. Petal tornadoes spun the two intruders around, sending their Activators flying across the floor. _Purple and gray?_ Luka stared at them. _They were being attacked by Rogues!_

"Oppa!" Phoebe ran to him, "Are you okay?"

Luka nodded. _She was alive…_ "Phoebe—" he stared behind her. _Jakata?_ Phoebe stood and walked a short distance away. Jakata followed her.

Rita gasped, taking a few shaky steps back, "…Jakata? But… the Chil-heng…."

"If he's alive we won't get the Chil-heng!" The one with the necklace activated Arrow.

"No!" Rita knocked his arm upwards, making the arrows hit the ceiling, causing chunks of the ceiling to fall.

"Phoebe!" Jakata pulled Phoebe out of the way of the single piece that didn't hit the table.

The necklace flashed and energy pulsed from it. The Rogue in the back activated Move, taking him and the other two away at the last instant. Finn activated Ice, creating small shields in front of everyone. Almost. Jakata pulled Phoebe behind one of them, getting hit and knocked into the wall, yelping loudly and falling down. Sena cried out from behind them.

Tori stood up from where he had been hiding, "Sena?!"

"I'm fine. Miya, check on the others."

Finn struggled to pull himself towards her, "…Sena…"

Miya crouched next to him, "Finn, wait until you can move again. Whatever that was just clipped Sena's leg. It only startled her."

Phoebe crouched next to Jakata, "Jakata?"

Jakata winced, "I can't feel anything."

At any other time Luka would have been questioning Jakata's presence, but not now. He listened as Miya checked the others, knowing her well enough to tell by her voice that the extent of the injuries –no matter how minor— was overwhelming her because she couldn't help everyone at once, especially those hit by Lightning.

They were lucky no one got killed. An average warrior could not have controlled another with a Move card, especially without the target knowing, and break a powerful Darkness barrier with ease. Not only had he been able to use Cage to create a barrier large enough to surround the house, but he had also been able to negate Cage's ability to cancel out use of Tai Chi cards. He was too dangerous, especially because it was possible the warrior knew them….

But that wasn't what scared Luka the most. It was what the Rogues had come for, something he had hoped he would never hear that word again.

* * *

The Rogues reappeared on the hilltop. Rita glared at the Nameless One. "We almost won! We would have found the Hwagoyu!" She sighed, "Just transport it here with Move."

"He can't if he doesn't know what it looks like," Kyu said, "Sure, he can go anywhere he's never been, but…."

"If we don't find the Hwagoyu tonight…."

"Will it be so bad if Yami forces Jakata back into dormancy? We can just immobilize him after that."

"We could, but if we do we'll risk Master Mishka getting destroyed."

"…Good point. But, why did the Sengoyu react like that?" He toyed with the now dull necklace.

"It was just some fluke reaction to the Hwagoyu," she turned to The Nameless One, getting a card and her Activator, "If we get punished for this—" the Move character appeared all over her and she was forced to set down, setting her card and Activator on the ground.

The Nameless One just faced her and walked away. _Move would lose its puppet effect in several moments._ He watched as Cage faded away from the house.

" _You didn't have to be so harsh,"_ she said, coming out of hiding.

" _Rita was willing to kill Finn. You know what would have happened."_

" _You could have stopped her from destroying the ceiling, though."_

" _The warning was given. How else was I supposed to get them to leave?"_ He watched as a dark figure wove though the trees towards the house. _"So he's here, too."_

" _If he gets there before they leave there_ will _be at least one death tonight."_

" _They'll leave well before he gets there."_

 **For those who had read the teaser, okay there were a lot of changes. Originally this chapter was not even half as long, but because of the length of the later chapters I decided to add to it.**

 **In Korean "Oppa" is the honorific for "older brother" when used by a girl.**

 **Loroa is the Dragonoid Elder that appears throughout season three.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter two. I did have a few problems writing a certain scene because it started to get really awkward, so hopefully I'll get better with similar ones later on.**

 _Luka swung a long stick around at imaginary enemies, lost his balance and fell into the pond. He climbed out and, annoyed, kicked the stick that had managed to stay on the grass. He looked up as Loroa, his mentor and the Elder he and his mother were staying with, walked over, leading a young blond kid that looked scared._

 _Loroa turned to the other boy, "He was wondering around in the forest."_

 _Luka sighed, "You didn't accidentally kidnap someone again, did you?"_

" _No, his family is gone."_

" _Oh…" That was happening a lot recently… Within the last year alone conflicts between Dragonoids and Tigeroids lead to a lot of death…_

 _The blond boy glanced around nervously. There was something… off… about him…._

" _He can only remember his name is Mishka."_

* * *

"It worked like the Stun Tai Chi, so just be careful moving around," Miya said, tying off a bandage around Jahara's upper arm. "I'm surprised Finn can still move. He was hit the worst and judging by what you said…"

"He and Luka have trained to get used to it, but not to that extent…" Jahara looked over at Finn, who sat next to Sena against the wall, "At least Rai wasn't still here."

"He should be okay in the morning," Miya got up, "I'll let Donha know it's safe now." She left.

Tori wandered past, still examining the damage that had been done to the walls and table during the fight, "Maybe it was a good thing Jakata got lost and I wasn't here…"

"He got lost in a straight hallway?" Jahara looked over. Phoebe was still with Jakata, talking to him. Occasionally Jakata nodded. Miya had checked him a short time ago, but he was starting to look even worse than before….

Luka stumbled over, using the wall for support, wincing every time his foot tapped the floor.

Jahara stood up, "Why didn't you tell Miya?"

He shook his head, trying to smile, "My foot fell asleep." Out of all of them he had been affected the longest. "We need to talk."

Jahara glanced over at Jakata. Luka wasn't that concerned, was he? She followed him into one of the guest rooms, closing the door. "You're not going to make Jakata leave, are you?"

Luka sat on the bed, "I can worry about that later. We were attacked by Rogues."

Jahara cringed, "You don't think Cora escaped, do you?"

Luka shook his head, "Not with all the guards watching her."

Ten years earlier during the war Cora had joined them, having already known them before they had gone to Earth. She had been very helpful finding the Tigeroid Tai Chi those first six months, but then…

"What are we going to do?"

"Leave. The only reason they left was because their leader used the Move Tai Chi," he slowly shook his head, "Being able to control someone's actions that way…"

"And the one that can use Lightning to stun? If they can use Tai Chi cards to mimic the effects of other, more dangerous Tai Chi…"

He looked up at her, "The one with the Move card knows who we are. I don't know if that's why he made the others hold back or if he was just warning us."

"But we don't know anyone with a Move card. It's impossible to go somewhere you've never been before."

"That's why we have to leave. Whoever that was can just come back."

"My brothers have been asking me to visit." Her six overprotective brothers and their families lived near the palace, having been the princess's personal guard for the past eight years. They often asked if Jahara could visit, Roman wanting Jahara to move there, his obvious excuse being "Luka is the Second-in-command and our Captain, and because he and the princess are good friends he needs to be here". There was some truth to it, but Luka wanted to be away from the noisy life of the palace, instead wanting to be where he grew up and train warriors like his mentor, Loroa, had done.

Luka sighed, "They're the reason Yuna is so spoiled…"

Jahara chose not to correct him, "Are you worried about putting Laura in danger?"

Luka nodded. Laura, Rai's mother, had been Luka's first crush.

"We can help protect her. If the Rogues are brave enough to attack the palace." She didn't exactly know _why_ everyone was scared of her brothers. Sure they were all taller than Tori and could easily lift their own weight, but what was so bad about that?

"Just don't tell them why we're coming."

"But then I'll have to tell them when we get there."

Luka twitched, "Tell them."

* * *

Donha activated Wall, covering the hole in the ceiling. "It will work until we can repair it. We should start with the wall in Phoebe's room."

"But what if they come back and blow it up again?"

"We can fix it again. It's better than sleeping in a cold room." They looked over as Jahara came back.

"We're leaving tomorrow morning."

"We're coming with you," Sena said. The others nodded. "It will be safer."

"Luka probably wants all of you to come, anyway. We're going to stay with Roman until we know what happened here."

"Did you tell him yet?" Tori asked.

"I'm going to in the morning. It's late and no one needs him to go off screaming into the night again." Out of all of her brothers Roman was the most excitable. And emotional.

Miya sighed, "He's still going to go off screaming during the day, too. I know he's a former Captain of the Royal Guard, but he still isn't a one-man army. How is he oldest?"

Jahara shrugged, "Ruko is the youngest and he's the most mature. Usually."

Miya let out a long exhale, "Our brothers are weird."

Luka came back, carrying a closed blue Communicator in one hand. "Griffin and Sora are bringing one of the Tigeroid airships. They're leaving in about an hour and should be here by mid-morning."

"Will Griffin be okay flying at night?" Miya asked, "He is night-blind."

"He's more concerned about the Rogues. We should rest while we can. I'll keep watch for a few hours."  
Finn nodded.

Everyone else started going back to their rooms. Finn helped Sena back, supporting her as she limped. He came back after.

Luka picked up the boomerang Rai dropped. Why it had been Rai's weapon of choice when he had brought a baseball bat with him… He set it on the table.

Jahara turned to him, "Until we know what happened, be nice to Jakata, okay? At least let him have one of the guest rooms for the night. Ask Tori to use Sleep on him if it makes you feel better."

Luka nodded, "I will," he hugged her good night.

Phoebe helped Jakata up and froze. Where he had been hit, along his chest and side where his clothes had been torn, was dark with blood. Jakata stared at him, his face starting to lose color.

Miya went over and turned to Luka, "Could you get him some new clothes, please? Rai's should fit him."

Luka glanced at Finn, "Watch them," he left.

"But some of Luka's clothes would fit better," Phoebe said, "Rai is taller than him."

"Rai's room is further away and I only left because he was starting to get very talkative about cotton candy," she stretched Jakata's arm out, "Help me get his jacket off."

Phoebe blinked at her, "Huh?"

"I need to treat the injuries before they get infected."

"But…"

Jakata kept glancing back and forth between the two and fumbled with the jacket zipper, finally holding it and tugging it down. He looked at Phoebe, as if asking if it was okay for Miya to be taking his arm out of his sleeve. Bandages from a previous time were wrapped up his torso and along his arm, stained with blood where the cut was. Finn watched, frowning.

"I'll have to replace them," Miya said, getting several things out of her first aid kit. "Can you get the rest of his jacket off?"

Phoebe stared at her, her face starting to turn red.

Jakata weakly flapped his arm in attempt to get the other sleeve off, wincing. Phoebe held onto the cuff and helped pull his arm out. Phoebe turned to Miya, "Miya—"

Miya had already cut the bandages here and there and started to pull them off. Phoebe's face turned a brighter shade of red and she turned around.

"It only looks bad because it's long and jagged, but it isn't very deep."

 _That wasn't the problem!_ She didn't even see it cut. She had seen some of Luka's students shirtless plenty of times –and Rai, but there wasn't much to look at– and she had never reacted this way before!

Jakata yelped. Phoebe turned slightly, focusing on Miya's hand. Miya reached out to clean the cut with a wet cloth. Jakata kept leaning back from her.

Phoebe turned back, "Did it stop bleeding yet?" _How was Miya not bothered by this?!_

"Yes."

Phoebe let out a slow, shaky breath, "I can help." She turned back around, taking the cloth Miya offered her and soaking it with her Water card, focusing on dabbing the cut. Jakata twitched, but didn't try to back away now, although he leaned a little closer to Phoebe.

Luka came back, carrying some of Rai's clothes. He stopped and stared. _Why was Phoebe helping him?_

Finn gave him a warning glare, "Let her."

Luka watched. Jakata twitched uncomfortably as they cleaned the cut, almost as if he was unused to even indirect physical contact. There had to be some reason he was tolerating it….

Miya set the jar of ointment between them, "Scoop out a small amount like this and evenly apply it over about an inch." It didn't seem to bother her she had cleaned most of the cut (Phoebe only making it about an inch from Jakata's shoulder), and that she would probably have to do the same with applying the ointment. She looked up at Jakata, "It will sting a little."

Jakata just stiffened and tightly closed his eyes.

"Is it going to leave a permanent scar?" Phoebe asked, doing what Miya told her. _Miya worked a lot faster than she did. It would be over soon…._

"I doubt it will. Rai has gotten a lot of cuts deeper than this and they healed perfectly."

"Is it the same for Dolls?"

"I assume so. Finn never gets scars."

Finn twitched and looked away.

"He never gets hurt or sick, either."

Miya got a bandage roll out, "His arms are fine. We just need to cover the cut. Do you want to or should I?"

Jakata gave Phoebe a pleading look. Phoebe took the bandage roll and focused on Miya's voice. _As long as she didn't look at him she would be fine…._ She didn't make it very long and had to turn around again, giving the bandage roll to Miya.

"Miya? When Jakata woke up he said he couldn't remember anything and I think he's disoriented."

"His memory just needs a little time to come back. Anyone would be disoriented if they slept for a long time and woke up somewhere unfamiliar," she tied off the bandage, "If he's still feeling the same in the morning let me know."

Phoebe nodded. _But what if he felt worse and was sick?_

* * *

Tela and Dan were already sitting around the table, waiting for their return. The group's leader, Yami, stood nearby, looking out of the wide, open space in the wall.

Tela looked up as Rita approached, "Did you find it?"

Rita shook her head, "No, but we know where it is," she sat next to Dan, the tallest of the group. "We're going back for it tomorrow. There was a complication…"

Tela sighed, "Did Kyu get captured or did the Nameless Guy switch sides? I don't like him, but if he did that's a problem…."

"The Sengoyu activated and he used Move to force us to leave."

"What's the problem, then?" Dan asked.

Yami looked over, "The Guardian is alive, isn't he?"

"I don't know," Rita looked up, "But Jakata is."

"What?!" Dan and Tela stared at her.

Tela smiled, "He is?"

Yami punched the wall, leaving a deep indentation, making the other three jump, "Why didn't you destroy him?!"

"It wasn't like I expected him to be there."

"He betrayed all of us and left us to die." The other three flinched. "If he wasn't needed…"

Tela smiled nervously, "At least we know where he is and we can go get him…"

Yami turned to them, "We will leave at dawn. We'll capture any survivors."

"But the leader—" Rita started.

"He won't care if we bring him what he wants," Yami turned back to the open space, "His son was also there, correct?"

* * *

Donha set a short stack of boxes next to several others, "That's the last of them."

Jahara nodded, sitting on the porch, holding her Communicator, "Should one of us have gone with Rai? He's taking longer than he said he would."

Tori sighed, straightening one of the boxes, "He probably just lied that his uncle wanted to see him just so he could get out of helping us pack."

Several hours earlier Rai had left after he had gotten a call from his only uncle, Jun. So now everyone was waiting for him to come back and for Griffin to bring the airship.

Jakata sat next to Phoebe on the steps, leaning against a post, dozing on and off, waking occasionally during Finn and Luka's light sparring match. Phoebe had managed to get him to eat a little bit before, but since then he had gotten even quieter and mostly unresponsive.

"He might just be really tired," Miya said, standing a short distance away, "He doesn't look like he slept that well last night. All of my supplies are already packed, so after we leave I can check him again."

Sena looked over, "Maybe his blood sugar is low or he's dehydrated?"

Miya nodded thoughtfully, "Maybe some juice will help."

Sena's attention turned and she sighed, "What did he do now?"

Rai walked over, carrying a small child that looked very similar to him, "Jun asked me to take care of Brave. He's going on a business trip, so he can't watch him. He's two years old."

Brave tapped his chest proudly.

"He can't stay with anyone else?"

Rai shook his head, "I'm his only other living relative, and he's _only_ two. I can handle it." He set Brave down, paying no attention as the toddler ran towards the pond.

Luka glanced at Rai, "You couldn't just tell your uncle to take him to the palace? It's too dangerous to bring him with us. The Rogues might–"

"We'll be staying with Mom. Brave will be safe."

Jahara picked up Brave before he could plunge into the pond and carried him over, "It's too dangerous if Rai watches him," she glared at Rai, "You left him unattended."

Sena walked over, "I'll watch him," she activated Wind, gently blowing dead leaves around, allowing Brave and Yuna to chase and catch them. She turned to Rai, "He looks kind of like you did when we went back in time."

"That's what Mom says."

Jahara watched the children for a moment and opened her Communicator, pressing a few buttons, "Hi, Roman. We're coming to visit," she winced as _all_ of her brothers began cheering. She had to wait until they calmed down before continuing, "We're bringing everyone with us."

" _How long are you going to stay?"_

"I don't know yet. For a while, at least. It will take us a few days to get there."

A Tigeroid airship passed by overhead, turning around and began to descend. The wind from it landing was enough to knock the boxes over and blow Brave down. Brave sat up, looking around with wide-eyes. He pointed at the airship, "Bad!"

The door in the airship's side opened and the stairs extended out. Sora stood at the top of the staircase, waving.

She ran down the stairs and greeted Luka with a hug. "The airship is stocked with enough food to last about a week. The palace is three or four days away. Each room has two beds. I won't have to share with Phoebe again, will I?" She sighed and looked up at the airship, "If it were blue it would be hard to see in the sky."

"We wouldn't be able to hide it anywhere," Luka said.

"Why can't we just take a Dragonoid airship?" Rai asked.

"They're slower and not as easy to hide," Luka said, "They're built for combat."

"Will we all be able to fit? Because there's…" he began counting on his fingers.

"Fourteen."

"Yeah, fourteen of us."

Sora narrowed her eyes, "You just want to drive one, don't you? And there are _twelve_ of us." She noticed Brave and looked over when Jakata coughed. "Huh."

Everyone jumped and looked over when very loud yelling erupted from Jahara's Communicator. She calmly closed it and looked up, "I didn't think they would react that well."

* * *

"The storage room is here," Sora said, opening the door for Donha and Tori, "We were planning on using the smaller room in the back, but we couldn't find the key for it and constantly having to use Tai Chi to unlock and lock it would get really annoying."

Tori looked around and counted all of the crates several times, "How many crates will we use in one day?"

"Two at the most," Donha said.

"Okay, so if we have enough to last us for a week, which would be about fourteen crates… Ten? Okay. Then why are there seventeen?"

Sora looked around and shrugged, "Griffin probably just got paranoid and brought a few more in. He's good with planning ahead."

Tori was the last to leave. He glanced back, feeling like he was being watched.

When they were finished loading the boxes into the airship everyone went to the Command room. Three kittens and three very small dragons half-chased half-fought each other, laughing and screeching to their parents. Yuna and Brave ran over to them.

Griffin looked around the back of the chair, "Is everything packed and is everyone here?"

Luka nodded. Griffin turned back, "We can leave now," he said to Hak and Duran, who stood on the table before him. They nodded. The airship started to take off, sending the kittens and baby dragons tumbling into the wall. Their mothers ran to them.

Griffin stood up, "We would have come earlier, but Hak had to teach Duran how to pilot the airship," behind him the two nodded, "We'll be able to travel faster and detect the Rogues sooner this way. Elita will help them if they need it." Hak and Duran stared up at him, horrified.

Elita jumped onto Griffin's shoulder, "I never agreed to that."

Sora walked up to Griffin, smiling, "You owe me that Activator upgrade now."

"What?" He gave her a confused look and looked up, jumping when he saw Jakata. Phoebe helped Jakata stand up straight.

Luka turned to everyone, "Go pick out your rooms. Tori, can you stay here? Phoebe, Jakata is going to have a room of his own."

"What? Why?" She struggled to hold Jakata up until Miya helped her.

"Just until we know what happened."

"Only until then?"

"It depends on when he recovers."

"Okay…" She and Miya slowly left, supporting Jakata between them.

Jahara took Yuna and Brave with her. The others slowly left.

Sora stared at Griffin's red-brown hair held back in a low, short ponytail, reaching out to touch it. Griffin took her hands in his, "You need to go with the others, okay?" he let go and glanced at Luka, slowly exhaling at seeing seeing the albino wasn't looking in his direction.

Luka watched Sora leave and turned back to Griffin. Griffin was something like an oddity among Dragnoids. Even though he joined the Royal Guard at an early age, and was a very capable fighter, he was a pacifist. He had sided with the Tigeroids nine years ago when the war was still going on, and since then had lived with Sena's family.

"I thought Jakata was dead," Griffin said.

"So did we," Luka turned to Tori, "What happened last night?"

"I don't know. Phoebe was upset and the card activated on its own."

Luka turned to Griffin, "It was a damaged Life card."

"Tai Chi cards will respond to strong emotions and sometimes they really don't care if the one holding them is a Dragonoid or a Tigeroid," he frowned, "But a high-level Forbidden class responding, especially in that state…" He looked at Hak and Duran, "Do you know why?"

They shrugged.

"Maybe it converged?" Hak suggested.

"If it did that then all of the nearby objects would have come to life," Duran said.

* * *

Phoebe stood out on the deck, watching as tiny trees passed below. Jakata slumped against the railing, hanging his arms over it, slowly rocking back and forth. Phoebe watched him. She had thought maybe some more fresh air would help him feel better, but it only seemed to make him feel even worse. "Do you want to go back inside?"

Jakata nodded and leaned against her for support as she helped him back inside. Phoebe led him to his room and one of the beds, letting him flop down and crawl onto it. She pulled the blanket over him, "I'll come back in a few hours." She wasn't sure how much he had heard before he had fallen asleep.

Phoebe left, closing the door behind her and went to find Miya. _Why was he getting sicker and sicker?_

* * *

"OW!" Rai glared at the boomerang. He picked it up and threw it again; unable to activate his Tai Chi card fast enough before getting his shoulder clipped, "Luka, you said this would work!" His voice echoed off the walls of the training room.

Luka watched, frowning, "Activate Fire," he activated Water to counter it. Instead of the water turning to steam like it usually did it overpowered Fire and knocked Rai against the wall. "Are you distracted?"

Rai got up, "No," he carefully tossed the boomerang to Luka, "Let's see you hit—" Luka threw the boomerang and knocked it away with Water. "I'm just having an off-day. No one else hit it, right?"

"You're the only one. Concentrate on hitting it," Luka gave him the boomerang and walked over by Phoebe, who sat against the wall, "You don't feel like trying yet?" He sat down next to her.

Phoebe shook her head, "Shouldn't we wait for Jakata to feel better before we train?"

"It will be better if we don't. We need to be ready if the Rogues decide to attack within the next few days."

"Can I wait until then?"

"If you want to."

"Oppa—" she looked up as the door opened.

Jahara leaned out of the way of the boomerang flying at her, letting it sail into the hallway, "Luka, did you sleep yet?"

He shook his head, "I can stay awake until tonight."

Jahara folded her arms, "Close your eyes and count to ten."

Luka smiled softly, "All right," he got up. He turned to Phoebe, "What were you asking me?"

Phoebe shook her head, "It isn't important. Go and sleep."

Rai came over as they left, "…He was tired and he still hit the boomerang?"

"He was up all night…."

"But then why can't I hit it? I'm wide awake."

Phoebe got up, "I don't know, Rai."

"Roman owes me a non-defective boomerang."

* * *

Thunder rumbled overhead. Torah had to stop frequently to listen to Sight as she gave him directions. The pouring rain made it difficult to tell where everything was. _At least no one else would be out here…._ He activated Shield, having it float above him to protect him against the rain again, aware the water cascading off only made distinguishing his surroundings only that much harder. _If only…._ As he got closer there were slight changes, such as the rain hitting a pond and a metal roof.

" _We're here!"_ she said, _"Take two steps forward. There's a porch."_

He stepped up and found the nearest wall, brushing his fingers along it until he found a door.

" _Are you going to break down a door again?"_

Torah backed two steps away and activated his Lightning Tai Chi, forcing the door open. _No shouting…._ He stepped inside. _It was too quiet…._ They had left?! Why?!

" _We'll find them,"_ Sight said, nuzzling his face, _"It smells like they left this morning. Leon will be able to find them by tomorrow and he'll tell us where they are."_

"Something scared them off," Torah said, "If it was powerful enough to…" he turned, listening as a Tai Chi finished activating. Four voices followed.

"This is it."

"Really? _Here?_ "

The first two were feminine, the latter sounding younger.

"It doesn't look like much."

"…They may have abandoned it," unlike the other male, his voice was filled with anger.

At least one of them was involved with this. Torah got another Tai Chi card out, listening as the owners of the voices got closer.

"It was abandoned."

"They could be hiding," the younger one suggested.

"He isn't," the first male that spoke said.

"…He wasn't here last night…" the other female said.

" _Rogues,"_ Sight said, _"But there's something weird about them. Be careful."_

Torah activated his card.

* * *

Phoebe sat in a chair next to Jakata's bed, sometimes looking outside. It had been storming for the last few hours. It wasn't bad enough that they would have to land and wait for it to blow over. It would probably be the last big rainstorm of the year before it started to snow.

Jakata shifted and blinked a few times, squinting, as if he was having difficulty focusing on Phoebe. He was breathing heavily… Phoebe tensed. The last time she had seen someone breathing like that was early that year when Luka had gotten very sick with pneumonia. It had taken him a while to get better, but when he got it he wasn't already weak, and ever since Jakata came back…. Phoebe got up, running out of the room, not hearing Jakata squeak something that sounded like her name in protest.

Rai glared down at his boomerang that sat on the table, arms folded. "Everyone else could hit it just fine. I've knocked it away before."

"Everyone has an off-day," Miya said, sitting nearby, already bored with the conversation.

"There's a reason for it."

"You're healthy. Aside from the bruises," she twitched when loud thunder rumbled.

Rai slowly smiled and nodded, "That's it. It's the storm's fault."

Miya stared at him, "How?"

"Tigeroids are weaker in water. If it's storming, than that's why."

"But you're a Hybrid."

The door behind them slammed open, making them jump.

"…Miya…" Phoebe said, panting lightly, "Jakata woke up. I think he's really sick."

Miya got up and followed her, leaving Rai alone.

Rai glared at the boomerang. "I'll show you," he stood up and threw it across the room. "Ha!" He turned and made it only a few steps, forgetting one very important detail: Boomerangs always come back.

* * *

Jakata struggled to sit up, aching everywhere, the pounding in his head making it hard to think. _Why did Phoebe leave?_ He finally managed to sit up and lean over to get out of bed. He looked up and saw Phoebe standing in the doorway, watching him. He smiled and fell onto the floor with a _thud_ , taking the blankets and pillows with him.

Phoebe helped him back up onto the bed, supporting him so he could sit up. Miya activated Sound, having an energy field envelope her hand. She lightly set her hand on Jakata's upper back. He twitched and tried looking to see what she was doing. After a moment Miya stepped back, "His lungs sound good and his heartbeat is strong." She looked through her first-aid kit and took out a thermometer that she had added to it. "He can lay down if he wants." She barely finished speaking when Jakata flopped down.

Miya stuck the thermometer in Jakata's mouth, "Don't talk for a little while."

"What do you think he's sick with?" Phoebe asked.

"I don't know yet, but you said he was affected by a card eight years ago. He could still be under some left over stress from it."

"Will he get better?"

"After a lot of rest," she checked the thermometer, "39 (103). It is a little high. He's going to need extra fluids," she turned to Phoebe, "Can you get some juice for him while I check his injuries and replace his bandages?"

Normally Phoebe would have protested, but with her reaction to the night before… she nodded. As she walked down the hall she passed Rai, who was laying on the floor, unconscious, his boomerang near him. Again? _Really?_

She went to the kitchen, where Donha was filling a small pitcher with juice. He turned and smiled, "Miya asked me to make some earlier. I used several different fruits and added some powdered herbs she suggested. I know Jakata used to be our enemy, but he can't be that bad. He saved you, and he isn't trying to fight us anymore."

"I don't think he can remember anything. If he did…"

Donha shrugged, "Rai would just have someone else to spar with. Jakata doesn't have anywhere to go, so he would have come with us anyway. If he does get his memories back and fights us again, that's fine. We'll just need to show him it's more fun to be friends with us," he gave her the pitcher and a few glasses, "Let me know if you need anything else."

Phoebe nodded, "Thank you."

When she got back Jakata was laying on the floor, his ankle and wrists tied with Thread. He looked up at Phoebe pleadingly.

"He behaved until after I replaced the bandages and helped him get his shirt on again," Miya said, sitting on the bed, "I told him not to get up." She allowed her card to lose affect. She helped pull Jakata back up onto the bed.

Phoebe offered Jakata a glass of the juice, which he accepted and chugged down. He held out the glass for a refill. This repeated twice more.

Phoebe glanced at Miya, "Is it okay for him to drink this much juice?"

"He needs it for the nutrients and sugar."

Jakata set the glass next to the pitcher on the bedside table and flopped over, sleeping. Miya got up and stumbled a few steps forward. She gave Phoebe a reassuring smile, "I was sitting for too long."

"At least you didn't fall over like Rai always does," Phoebe said, picking up the pitcher and glass, "Oh yeah. He lost to his boomerang again."

"That's not surprising," Miya followed her out, closing the door behind them, "Where did it hit him this time?"

"The head, I think."

Miya slowly sighed and walked ahead, "I told Roman Rai isn't responsible enough to own one of those…."

* * *

Griffin sat at the table, Sora's Activator in front of him, its back panel left open and several tools scattered around it.

Sora watched as he touched a tiny tool around the inside of her Activator, only able to guess he was either moving small parts or replacing wires. She had seen him do similar things numerous times, just as like when Hannah's Activator had been damaged and Griffin fixed it for her.

"Jahara found an Activator last night," Sora said, "She doesn't know who it belongs to and she said it looks like it was badly damaged. Did you fix one and leave it there?"

Griffin shook his head, "Jahara showed it to me. It was damaged to the extent I wouldn't have been able to repair it. It's one of the last generations."

"Which would be?"

"The one after yours. The prototype to the one everyone has now, before they were sturdy."

"So it could be one as old as Phoebe's original Activator? Wow, there are only a few of those."

Griffin replaced the Activator's back panel and turned the device over, testing it with his Opposite card. "That should be it. I'll show you how to use it after the rain stops."

Miya came back in and sat next to Jahara, who was playing a game of chess with Luka, "Rai should be fine if he can rant that long about how much he hates the boomerang."

"Did he forget about Brave again?" Jahara moved one of the pieces.

"Tori is showing Brave and Yuna magic tricks."

Luka sighed, "If Rai can't even handle a boomerang…."

"Donha and Tori have experience with younger siblings," Jahara said, "Eventually Rai will see he isn't Brave's favorite and then he'll start trying harder. Or he's just let us take care of Brave and take credit for watching him."

"We shouldn't trust him with Brave's safety," Luka said.

"No, we should not."

"Miya?" Phoebe stood in the doorway, looking worried, "I think he's worse…."

"Is it that noticeable from a few hours ago?" She got up, "Okay." She followed Phoebe, leaving the door open.

Luka watched them leave. _Jakata couldn't be_ that _sick just from getting hit by an energy pulse…_

Jahara moved another chess piece, "Maybe it only affects Dragonoids. Sena got hit but she's fine," she looked up as Sena walked past the door, looking increasingly annoyed as Finn and Rai tried to help her walk, especially Rai judging by how she quickly turned and kicked him, sending him to the floor with her "injured" leg.

" _As you can see I'm fine!"_ She gave him one last glare and left, allowing Finn to help support her if she needed it.

They looked back at their chess game. Jahara looked up at Luka, "What do you think would have happened if Rai or Finn got hit? Rai is a Hybrid and Finn is a Doll and _almost_ a Hybrid."

"Either they would be affected, too, or their Tigeroid blood would have protected them."

"Miya, hey!" Rai said, still laying on the floor, "I was just walking along minding my own business, talking to Sena when she just _suddenly_ —"

Miya came in and closed the door behind her, and leaned against it, her face pale.

"Miya?" Jahara got up.

"His fever is 46 (115)."

Silence blanketed the room.

Luka spoke first, "How long does he have?" He already knew the answer. After all, it was a fever that high that….

"I don't know," she said, her voice quiet, "It takes up to two or three days for us to die at 43 (110)."

"We can ask the palace healers to look at him," Jahara said.

"If he lives that long…" Miya said, "What are we going to tell Phoebe when…."

Luka got up, "It will be better if she knows now." As he opened the door Rai continued his speech.

"— kicked me and now…. Luka, you're not Miya. Where's Miya?"

Luka didn't answer him and went down the hall.

* * *

Phoebe sat next to Jakata's bed, watching him sleep. She looked up as Luka walked in, "He's really sick, isn't he? Miya got quiet and left without saying anything. "

Luka forced himself to look at her, "Yes."

"But he can't die! He just got back!"

"If he lives long enough the palace healers can help him."

"But…" she looked over at the doorway. Finn stood there. He just nodded and left.

"Talk to him."

She looked up at him, "What?"

"When Jahara was sick eight years ago I talked to her."

* * *

After the storm blew over Jahara contacted her brothers again. She had invited everyone else to come, other than Phoebe and Miya, who were still with Jakata, but only Luka and Rai came with her. Even Hak and Duran were nervous.

"Roman owes me a new boomerang," Rai said.

"I'm calling Ruko. Roman is giving his classes right now," she set up the call. It didn't connect at first, the screen static until it faded into black, muffled voices coming through. Eventually the screen flickered and lit, showing her youngest brother's bruised and cut face.

" _Don't come here!"_ Behind him other warriors were activated cards to put out fires and to repair damage that had been done to the blown apart walls and ceiling, _"We were attacked by the Rogues. They took Laura."_

" _What?!_ You didn't stop them?!" Rai turned to leave.

Luka grabbed his arm, "You won't be able to do anything."

"They took my mom!" Rai struggled to pull free, "Don't treat me like a little kid! I'm taller than you!"

"You don't even know where they took her."

" _Luka is right, Rai,"_ Ruko said, _"No one knows where the Rogue base is. All we know is they want something called the 'Chil-heng'."_

Luka twitched. _He had known anyone they were close to could get involved…_

" _Mica! Give that back!"_

Another one of Jahara's brothers appeared on the screen. _"They didn't say we even have the Chil-heng, but they might come back. Hey, Rai? Do we have your permission to go after the Rogue Boss?"_

Jahara answered for Rai, "Not until all of you know where to go. Laura can take care of herself."

As much as he didn't want to admit it, Luka knew better. _Why did it have to be the Chil-heng?_

Hak yelped and looked up from the table, "There's another airship near here, and it's behind us. It's almost out of radar."

Luka frowned, "We're being followed," he let go of Rai's arm. "Go get Tori and Sena."

"You get Tori and Sena." Luka glared at him. Rai took a few steps back, "Go get Tori and Sena, okay, got it. Bye." He ran off.

They came several moments later, Rai warily following them. Luka turned to them, "Sena, cloak us with Darkness. Tori, create an Illusion or the airship. Hak, Duran, when Sena activates Darkness find somewhere to land."

Rai glared at Luka. " _I'm_ the leader," he turned to everyone and pointed at Luka, "Like he said."

* * *

They all sat around the table, letting the news sink in.

"Where are we going to go now?" Tori asked. "We'll have to leave soon. Maybe the Rogues will think we abandoned the house or are going to the palace. They'll look everywhere else for us."

Luka shook his head, "They're too smart for that." He glanced at Phoebe, who was staring at him, looking like she wanted to protest. He had promised her, too…

Finn stood up, "We'll leave in two days."

"But that will give them a chance to find us," Sena said.

Finn shook his head.

* * *

Yami glared out the window. _How could they have lost to him, a_ Tigeroid?!

The others nervously glanced over before turning to Kyu.

"He was able to block all of our attacks," Rita said, "We even combined our Tai Chi together, but it did nothing."

"Where were you this morning, anyway?" Tela asked.

Kyu didn't answer at first, "I had a few things to do. I won't be leaving again for a while."

"How are we going to get the Hwagoyu now? They had to take it with them…."

"We could just let them keep it for now," Dan said, "We don't have to worry about it. The spy can just get it."

"…Unless it activates…" Rita said.

* * *

Rai flopped onto his bed. _Why didn't they care?!_ If they went to the palace they could at least find out from Mica and everyone else were the Rogues had gone. If only they knew someone connected to the Rogues…

Rai slowly sat up. Jakata. He had overheard Phoebe saying the Rogues knew Jakata. Jakata had to know who they were, after all— He flopped down again. Jakata was unconscious with a high fever. Waking him up would be a bad idea because Miya and Phoebe always made sure someone was with him, so Miya would find out. That was almost as bad as trying to escape from her when she was treating injuries….

He sighed. He had to wait for Jakata to wake up. He got up and went over to the table in his room where he had set the music box he had bought for his mom. He turned the key, winding it up and opened it.

The melody changed from its calming, nostalgic tune to something much more haunting and melancholic. The Fire character-like symbol on the bottom began to glow, casting a strange light on the mirror. Rai stared, his eyes turning to a dull amber. He slowly stepped away, shaking his head. _No!_ He activated Sword and attacked the air, shouting at the enemies. He knocked into the table, the movement enough to cause the music box's lid to fall shut, silencing the song.

Rai looked around, confused, his eyes clear, "Where…?" He stumbled back. _Using Tai Chi didn't make him this tired_ … He sat on his bed. It would hurt less to pass out here….

That plan failed as he fell to the floor.

* * *

 **Like with chapter one this chapter was originally only about half as long.**


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter might be a bit rushed because I rewrote this one last week so I didn't have a lot of time…**

 **I forgot to mention in earlier chapters that "goyu" means "ancient heritage"; which means Hwagoyu basically means "Ancient heritage (of) Fire".**

 **The Chil-heng means "The Seven Elements".**

* * *

 _Luka swung the stick around, careful this time. He tried to focus on his balance, but… He glanced at Mishka, who was sitting huddled on the porch, watching him. It had been two months since he came and he still had that scared expression. It seemed like he wanted to train, too, but it was hard to tell. He had barely said more than a few words since he came and there was something_ weird _about him. What that was, Luka couldn't tell._

 _His mom had told him to try to be friends, so… Luka went to get one of the other sticks used for training and held it out to Mishka, "Do you want to try?"_

 _Mishka froze up for a few seconds, slowly backed away, got up and went back inside._

… _Well, he had tried…._

* * *

Phoebe jerked awake as Jahara gently shook her.

"Phoebe, go to bed."

Phoebe sleepily shook her head, "I can't…" she looked at Jakata. His heavy breathing didn't change at all.

"I'll watch him for a few hours and then Miya is going to take over. You haven't slept since yesterday. We don't want you to get sick, too," she led Phoebe over to the other bed, "If anything happens we'll wake you up."

"But…" she sat down.

"You can't keep pushing yourself."

Phoebe slowly nodded, "Okay…" she looked up, "I heard Rai yelling. He's really loud."

"He was probably showing off to himself in the mirror and tripped on the floor again. We'll know tomorrow if he starts blaming his reflection for distracting him."

Phoebe only nodded and flopped sideways, falling asleep. Jahara pulled a blanket over her and went to sit next to Jakata's bed. Luka had been quieter since they found out about Jakata's high fever. Jahara had asked him about it, but the answer had been vague, only saying someone he knew had been through a fever that high.

Jahara could only guess whoever that had been died from it, and maybe he didn't want Phoebe to go through the same thing. He also wasn't saying much about what he knew about the Hwagoyu, whatever that was. He knew more than just recognizing the name judging by his reaction whenever the Chil-heng were mentioned….

* * *

When Phoebe woke the next morning it was already light out. Miya turned to her, "I let you sleep in. Nothing has changed."

"His fever didn't even drop?"

"Not yet," she got up and let Phoebe sit in the chair. "I normally wouldn't recommend this, but…" she picked up an eye-dropper off the table and gave it to Phoebe, "I've been doing this since this morning. Give him a few drops of water under the tongue every once in a while. Any more than that in a short amount of time could result in the water going into his lungs. This might be the only way to keep him from getting too dehydrated. Keep using Frost to chill the water a before you give it to him."

Phoebe nodded.

"Are you going to join everyone for breakfast or are you going to stay here?"

"I'm staying. Just save something for me for later."

Miya nodded and left. Phoebe used her Water card to gently wet a cloth and then used the Frost card Miya had left for her to lightly freeze it before setting it on Jakata's forehead. Dragonoids were supposed to be sensitive to the cold, so why was it not having any effect? By now his fever should have at dropped at least a little. She wasn't even sure if he was dehydrated or not because she couldn't tell the difference between sweat or water from the cooled cloth she often patted on his face and along his arms.

She looked up as Donha softly knocked on the wall, "I'm going to eat later."

"I don't think you're going to want to wait, not with how much Rai is eating," he gave her a plate of several muffins and cookies. He set a shallow bowl of steaming broth on the table. "Miya said this would be better for Jakata than plain water because of all the vitamins and salt. I know he's unconscious, but he should still be able to taste it and it's a lot better when it's warm, especially because most Dragonoids respond well to the warmth. Let me know if you need anything else." He left.

Phoebe stared after him, blinking a few times. Of course… Dragonoids were _sensitive_ to the cold! Being exposed to it for long periods of time often lead to fevers and lethargy. The few times it happened to her she always felt a lot better after a warm drink or soup.

If this worked even a little bit…

Rai's shouting came from down the hall. Phoebe sighed. Well, he was either blaming his reflection or the boomerang again….

* * *

Rai set the music box on the table, shoving any remaining plates aside, not even noticing who took them away to get washed. "It started playing a different song and…" he hesitated, "And I saw one of the Rogues taking Mom away. I tried to go after them but then they disappeared. And then I fainted … fell asleep. It must have been some kind of illusion or something."

Everyone else stared at it.

"You don't know what happened, Rai," Luka said, "It might have not—"

"Well it did!" Rai folded his arms, glaring at everyone that agreed with Luka.

"The past few days have been stressful for all of us," Jahara said.

Tori nodded, "You were probably just tired after all the training you did. Tai Chi cards use a lot of energy."

"Music boxes can't just change the song they play," Sora said.

"It did!"

Donha got up and took Yuna and Brave with him. Griffin glanced at Rai, who had begun to glare hostilely at everyone and followed.

"Maybe it was just the boomerang," Sora said, "It does keep knocking you out."

"Not last night!" he stood fast enough to knock his chair over.

"Rai…" Miya said. Her soft tone was completely misunderstood.

"I'll show you, then," he opened it, and a melancholic tune came from it. Rai took a few steps back, his dull wide eyes staring at the wall.

"Rai?" Sena walked around the table, unaware of Finn's attempt to stop her, coming into Rai's line of vision.

Rai glared at her and shouted something incoherent at her, activating an uncontrolled blast of Fire, throwing it at her and activated Sword.

"Rai!" Luka activated Water, using it in a hook-shot to put out the flames that covered Sena and to slam Rai into the wall hard enough to knock him out, although he hadn't been fast enough to prevent some of Sena's hair getting burned. He closed the music box, hesitating when… _something…_ flickered in front of him.

Finn crouched next to Sena, helping her up, "Are you all right?"

Sena nodded, shaking. Her face and clothes had a few burn marks, and a good amount of her hair had been burned in places.

Jahara glanced at the music box, "Is that what the Rogues wanted?"

Luka nodded, "It's likely."

Miya checked Sena's burns, "They're going to sting for a little while, but they won't leave any scarring. Keep a cool cloth against them." She went over and checked Rai. "We're going to have to wait for him to wake up. From what I can tell he's going to have a really bad headache," she looked up, "What was with the Fire attack? It shouldn't have been that out of control."

Rai blinked a few times and let out a whine, "Stupid boomerang." He felt around for it, "Miya, it hit me again."

"No, Luka just stopped you from attacking Sena."

"Luka threw the boomerang at me?!" He glared at Luka, "You… why do I smell burnt hair?"

"You just set Sena on fire," Sora said.

"No I didn't. Luka threw the boomerang at me," he looked around, "What happened?"

* * *

Phoebe looked over as Donha came back, noticing his worried expression, "What happened?"  
"Rai said his music box played a different song last night. The same thing just happened and he attacked Sena with Fire."

"Is she okay?"

He nodded, "She will be, but Rai doesn't even remember what happened."

That had to have been when Rai was yelling and stopped about ten minutes earlier… Phoebe glanced at Jakata. Ten minutes ago was when he looked like he started to wake up, but….

"If you want I can stay here," Donha said.

Phoebe looked up at him, "Why? Did something else happen?"

"Well…"

* * *

"It doesn't look that bad," Jahara said, setting a pair of scissors on the table and gave Sena a mirror, "See?"

Sena stared at her reflection. Her hair had been burned so bad that it had to get cut at barely ear length.

Jahara removed the towel covering her shoulders and wiped away any stray hairs.

"I said I'm sorry," Rai said, pressing a bag of ice against his head. He glanced at Finn, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Sena narrowed her eyes and got up, picking up the scissors. She pointed them at Rai threateningly, "You knew what it did."

Rai held his hands up, backing away, "I didn't know what would happen."

Sena slowly walked towards him. Rai turned to flee, only to be stopped by Finn. He turned back to Sena, "Don't."

"What, you don't trust me?"

"Not when you're like this," he flinched when Sena snapped the scissors at him.

"You can either let me cut your hair or do one thing for me to apologize."

"Like what?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"I'll do that," he backed around Finn, watching Sena until he got out of the room, "I'm going to… um… go actively babysit Brave and Yuna, and Hak's and Duran's kids… Yeah…" he fled.

Sena set the scissors back on the table.

"You're not going to let him forget this, are you?" Jahara asked.

Sena shook her head and looked back at the mirror, smiling and playing with her hair.

Miya looked up at Jahara, "Cut my hair, too."

"What?"

"Please?" She looked at Sena, "You can choose how short it is."

Sena set the mirror down, "Miya, you don't have to."

"I know we're not related, but you're still my sister. I want to support you."

Sena smiled, "Okay." She looked up at Jahara, "Do you think it would look cute like when your hair was short?"

Jahara turned to Miya, "Are you sure?"

Miya nodded and turned to Phoebe and Sora, "You two are getting your hair cut, too, right?"

Sora blinked and hesitantly nodded, "Just enough to notice."

Phoebe played with her hair, "Well…"  
"I can trim it until you tell me to stop," Jahara said.

"Are you getting your hair cut, too?"

Jahara shook her head, "Confusing Rai will be more fun."

* * *

Rai opened the door to another room. _He lost Brave…._ How was he supposed to actively babysit if he couldn't find him?! …If Luka or Jahara found Brave before he did…. Brave liked to play with the kittens, so he could be doing that. _Yes. That was it._ Rai went up to the Command room. Not only were Duran's children not there, Hak's weren't, either, much less Brave or even Yuna.

Griffin and Luka stood around the table, talking with Hak and Duran.

Luka didn't even look over, "Tori is showing card tricks to them."

"I wasn't looking for Brave."

"What happened?"

Rai glanced around nervously, "Sena had to get her hair cut…."

They all looked up at him.

Hak's ears flopped, "She won't let you forget about that… ever…."

"At least it wasn't Jahara…" Duran said. He glanced to see Luka's reaction. He got an understanding but annoyed look.

"Tell her it's cute and you're still very sorry," Griffin said.

Rai nodded, "I'll do that," he forced a smile, "It can't be any worse, right?"

They all took a sudden interest in the map.

"What? No one can get angrier than Sena."

Griffin glanced up, "Well…"

* * *

Phoebe walked down the hall, continually straightening the curls in her hair. As she got closer she could hear Donha talking about food. _Miya must have told him to talk to Jakata…._

Donha looked up as she came back, looking as if he didn't expect her back so soon. He didn't respond at first, "You got your hair cut, too? It's pretty that short."

Phoebe smiled, "Thank you," she walked over, "Is he doing any better?"

Donha got up, "I think he's breathing easier now."

Phoebe sat in the chair, "What were you telling him before I got back?"

"About how many different cookies there are. Are there any special ones you want me to make? You like the really soft ones, right? I'll ask Miya to come in and check on him."

Phoebe nodded, "Thank you," she said as he left. She turned to Jakata, "I got my hair cut. Miya wanted all of us to cut our hair to support Sena. Sora's hair is really curly, and Jahara accidentally cut off a little too much, so now Sora's hair is super curly. She got upset about it until Sena tied it in a ponytail, so she's happy with it now," she leaned back in the chair, "We still don't know what happened. Maybe Rai's music box is what the Rogues want? I think they called it the Hwagoyu? He's had it for years and only now it acted differently." She looked up as Miya came in, "It's so short…"

Miya nodded, playing with her hair, smiling, "It feels so much lighter now," she glanced at Jakata, "He is looking better." She stuck the thermometer in Jakata's mouth.

"Do you think he'll wake up soon?"

"I can't say for sure. He will when he's ready to," she pressed two fingers against Jakata's wrist.

"The Life Tai Chi won't lose affect, will it?"

"Finn is still alive and Jakata doesn't have the Life character on him, so I don't think it will."

"Why is he still unconscious?"

"It can be a number of reasons. It could be from what's making him sick or he's recovering from when the Rogues attacked," she checked the thermometer and stared at it. "40.5 (105)," she tapped the end of it, "I'm sure it said 46 (115) this morning…."

"That's good, right?"

"Drastic changes usually aren't, but… Did you do anything different?"

Phoebe looked away, "Well… I thought maybe because Dragonoids respond to warmth more than Tigeroids do warm broth would be better than cold…" she looked up, "And, you know, sometimes when you have a fever you feel cold."

Miya blinked a few times, "That worked? So we might have actually been raising his temperature with the treatments? If it's helping…" she looked over at Jakata, "Well, I suppose—" she jumped and stumbled back.

Jakata slowly blinked a few times, making a face like he tasted something really bad.

Miya turned to the bedside table where a mostly full water pitcher and a few glasses were. She filled one, "Let him sip." She gave it to Phoebe and positioned Jakata's pillow enough to he could tilt his head up a little higher.

Phoebe lightly touched the cup to Jakata's bottom lip. It took a few seconds for him to respond and sip a few times before he realized what is was and tried to limply hold the cup.

Miya repositioned the pillows again so he could sit up more, "Don't let him—"

Jakata managed to get the cup away from Phoebe and half-chugged, half-coughed the water down. He held the cup out. Miya refilled it and watched as the half-chugging, half-coughing repeated. "Just slow down."

Phoebe turned to Miya, smiling, "He's going to be okay…"

"Not if he keeps doing this," she confiscated the cup. "I'll only refill it if you drink it slowly."

Jakata miserably nodded and got the cup back, taking very slow, very small sips. He looked up at Phoebe, blinking, "Your hair is shorter..."

"He isn't delirious so that's good," Miya said, "He will have to stay in bed until his temperature comes down more."

Jakata gaped and turned to Phoebe, _"Why?"_

"It's just until you feel better."

Jakata stared down and set the cup on the table and flopped back.

"I've seen Rai pretend to sleep long enough to know what it looks like," Miya said. She turned to Phoebe, "Are they related by any chance?"

"Well…" she looked up when there was a soft knock on the open door.

Donha brought a plate of cookies in, "The swirled ones are a new recipe I'm trying. There are a few extra if Jakata wants one when he wakes up."

Phoebe smiled and took the plate, "He woke up and now…" she turned to Jakata, watching his slow, deep, breaths, "… he's sleeping again…"

"Even if he woke up for a little while that's great. He's feeling a lot better then."

"His fever dropped to 40.5 (105)," Miya said, "Do you know if Finn ever got really sick and his temperature dropped rapidly?"

"No, I can't even remember if he ever got sick."

Miya got up, "I want to ask him about this," she turned to Phoebe, "I should be back in a few minutes. If he wakes up again don't let him out of bed," she left.

"Finn once said Dolls heal faster than we do," Donha said, "The worst of his injuries only took a few hours to heal, so Jakata might be fully recovered tomorrow."

Shouting came from down the hall. The words couldn't be heard clearly, but it was definitely Rai arguing with Sena. Donha glanced at Phoebe, "If you need anything else let me know," he hurried away.

Phoebe set the plate on the bedside table, taking one of the swirled cookies. It had to be the strawberry-cream one Donha had wanted to try making. How he knew the basic recipe after only trying a food once….

She watched as Jakata rolled over and slowly opened on eye, staring at the cookies. He reached out for one, sitting up for better reach. Phoebe gave him one of the swirled ones. Jakata bit into it and flopped back, smiling.

"Hey."

Phoebe looked over, "Hi, Rai."

"Sena wouldn't let me take any more cookies. I only ate _seven_." He leaned against the door-frame.

"Uh-huh."

"Anyway, when Jakata is feeling better do you think he'd want to spar or something?"

Jakata looked up, the cookie still in his mouth.

"Miya probably won't let him until his fever is down."

"He could just watch."

" _No,"_ Miya walked up to him, her arms folded.

"Why not?"

"Because right now he could risk relapsing," she walked into the room.

Rai blinked, "What?" he looked over, "When did he wake up? Now that he's awake—"

Miya sighed, "No. He's going to stay here until he recovers. That means he can't watch you show off and he can't spar with you."

Jakata looked up at her, "Not even a little bit?"

"I heard how hyper you are. You'll want to join in and you could overexert yourself. You're staying here."

* * *

Miya glared between Rai and Jakata, "Five minutes." They stood out on the deck. It was the only way to get Rai and Jakata to stop whining…. Well, at least it would keep Rai from showing off inside the airship, where he could easily set something on fire again.

Jakata sat next to Phoebe, watching as Rai activated different cards. Jahara and Griffin stood nearby, there to help if Jakata decided to join in –not that he could do much without an Activator or cards- or if Rai got cocky and attempted something he couldn't control. The current bursts of fire, though, were much smaller than usual, and other attacks such as Slice and Ball didn't have as much force behind them.

Phoebe looked up at Jahara, "Are the Rogues still nearby and that's why he's holding back?"

Jahara shook her head, "If there were any nearby Luka wouldn't have let us come out."

Phoebe looked back. Rai glared at his card, grumbling to himself. He went into Tigeroid state.

Jakata turned to Phoebe, "How'd he do that?"

"What?" Phoebe looked at him, "It's just like when we go into Dragonoid state."

"How do I do that?"

"You just… do…"

Griffin frowned and looked up as Rai was tapping the screen of his Activator, "Do you have a Forget card with you?"

"Yeah," Rai came over, "But Sena said if I used it—"

"Activate it over Jakata," he activated his Opposite card, turning the Forget character into Remember. The character floated over Jakata and dissolved into tiny particles of light. "Do you remember anything before you woke up a few days ago?"

Jakata looked up at him, "Am I supposed to?"

"…Yes… Can I see your earpiece? I'd like to reprogram it. It's possible the Rogues could use it to find us."

Jakata quickly took it off and gave it to him.

Griffin turned to Miya, "If he's supervised and instructed he could activate a card or two for milder affects. It might jog his memory," he went back inside.

"We should to back in, too," Miya said.

Jakata stuck his bottom lip out, "I don't want to."

"It's been more than five minutes."

"But—"

Phoebe got up, "Maybe we can come back out later. We should go back before the cookies—"

Jakata sat up straighter, looking up at her very intently, "Cookie?"

* * *

Griffin sat at the table with various small tools in front of him, working on replacing and rearranging tiny parts in the earpiece. Elita sat near him, helping by getting tools. Finn sat nearby, watching.

"Why didn't Remember work?" Jahara asked. Luka stood nearby. "Remember is strong enough to bring back even suppressed memories."

"His memories must have been erased when he died," Griffin said, frowning.

Jahara was sure she heard Luka say something like "good". She frowned at him and glanced back at Griffin, "Let me know if you need help." She went into the other room, grabbing Luka's arm and yanking him with her until they were out of earshot. "Why do you hate Jakata?" She let go.

Luka rubbed his arm, "Multiple reasons. He insulted you several times, kidnapped Phoebe, and because of him you were affected by…" his voice trailed off, "He's wild and obnoxious."

"So is Rai and you don't hate him. Duran told me Jakata did those things because he wanted you and Rai to fight him, and it was _Mishka_ that reactivated the Hideous Tai Chi," Luka twitched, "And it was only because he wanted to manipulate you. You can't blame Jakata because he didn't exactly know any better."

"Jahara—"

"Try to get along with him, all right? Even if it's as simple as giving him beginner's advice about Tai Chi cards."

Luka slowly exhaled, "Just until he learns how to defend himself," he left.

Griffin turned the earpiece over, briefly testing it. He gave it to Finn, "You'll know better than I will if it stills works."

Finn took it and walked out of the room.

Sora came in, talking to Phoebe, "Are you sure you want to use that?"

Phoebe nodded, "Jakata should have his Activator and cards again," she walked up to Griffin and showed him the damaged Activator, "Can you check this?"

"Sure. It should take a few minutes," he took it, "I have some extra tools in my room. Could you…"

Phoebe nodded and left.

"I'm helping," Sora said, sitting down.

"But you hate—"

"I'm saving you from being Jakata's next choice as someone to spar with. If he can whine about not getting what he wants then he's going to spar no matter what Miya says. I know how you feel about fighting."

Griffin smiled softly and looked up at Finn came back, "Do I still need to work on it?"

Finn shook his head and set the earpiece on the table. Elita stared at him.

* * *

"It should work like our Activators now," Griffin said, giving the Activator back to Phoebe, though much later than he had anticipated, "Sorry about the wait. Whoever repaired it used pieces I'm not familiar with. It worked fine when I tested it, so they knew what they were doing," he showed a blue Communicator, "I'm connecting it with Jakata's earpiece, so you can talk to him even if you two are separated."

Phoebe smiled, "Thank you."

"It was Finn's idea, actually."

Sora looked up, "Where is Jakata, anyway?"

Jahara didn't look up from the book she was reading, "Luka is teaching him the basics of fighting."

"Should it be taking this long?"

"Well…" she looked up as Luka came back, "How did it go?"

It took him a moment to respond, "How did what go?"

"Training Jakata."

He blinked a few times, "Training?" Realization slowly came over his face, "Oh…"

Sora looked up at him, "What were you doing for the last hour?"

"Yuna wanted to play and Brave wanted a pillow fort..."

"Okay then, what about Jakata?"

Miya came in, "I checked everywhere. I can't find Jakata."

* * *

The same feeling of the thingy that attacked him was getting stronger. Jakata looked at the trees around him. He would just get it quick and go back. Phoebe would be happy there was another one on the airship, right?

He took a few more steps and the thingy suddenly moved behind him, shortly followed by a strangely familiar sound, and an energy blast hit him from behind, throwing him against a tree. _What was that?!_

A cloaked figure walked out of the shadows. The one with the thingy that attacked him. _He's_ the one that made Phoebe upset.

"Our leader wants you. We've been searching for you for some time now."

Jakata stood up, getting his cards out. "You made Phoebe cry. You're bad." He hesitated. How did Rai use his card? Before he could do anything the cloaked figure activated Lightning.

* * *

Rai looked under his bed. Not there, either… He sat up and looked around. This wasn't good…

Tori walked past the door and stopped, "If you're looking for your boomerang Miya confiscated it, remember?"

Rai slowly shook his head, "I lost Brave."

Tori's face paled, "If Jahara finds out…" Rai nodded numbly.

They ran down the hall. "Where didn't you look yet?!"

"The kitchen, the Command room, the training room, I don't know, a lot of rooms!"

They ran past Donha, "We can't find Brave!"

He joined them.

Elita darted out of one of the rooms they passed, "He isn't there, either!"

"We have to find him before—" Rai screeched to a halt, smiling as Jahara stood there, holding Brave, whose face was covered in chocolate. Rai was sure he heard the others fleeing, but they wouldn't abandon him to Jahara's wrath, "Hey…"

"He was in the storage room," Jahara said, frowning, "With a pile of wrappers around him."

"Chocolate is good!" Rai laughed nervously, "He needs all the sugar to grow up to be a strong, healthy boy!" He took a few steps away.

"Your punishment is you're banned from sweets for two weeks."

Rai stared at her, "What?"

"If you would much rather I could have Sena add an additional punishment of her choice."

Rai waved his arms wildly, "No no no no! Two weeks, I can handle it."

Jahara gave him one last glare before leaving.

Rai slowly exhaled, "It could have been worse. You can sneak me cookies, right Donha?" He turned, finding himself alone, "Where did they go?"

Phoebe ran into the hall, only to be stopped by Luka. "Luka, let go!" she glared at him.

"We don't know where he is or when he left."

"He could still be nearby!"

Rai warily wandered over, "What's going on?"

"Jakata disappeared," Luka said.

"Well just ask Griffin to go find him. He's really good at stalking."

"Tracking."

"Is there a difference?" He yelped when Sora stomped out of the room and over to him.

She stood on her tiptoes to attempt matching his height, "The difference is one is just creepy and the other is a useful life skill. If Jakata isn't back in twenty minutes Griffin is going to find him," she gave him one last glare before going back into the room.

Phoebe looked up at Luka, "I'm going with him."

"Not until we know it's safe."

"But…"

"The Rogues are still looking for us. If there are any nearby it will be safer if Griffin goes alone."

"What about _Jakata?_ The Rogues are looking for him, too."

"He's capable of taking care of himself even without Tai Chi cards."

* * *

Jakata laid at the base of a tree. He couldn't tell if his shoulder or jaw hurt more, and they felt kind of weird… His vision started to blur.

The cloaked figure stood over him, "As long as you're still alive…" he was about to activate another card when a small dark blur darted past his face. He stumbled back and looked where the attack came from, "Not you…"

* * *

Phoebe stood near the airship, anxiously staring into the trees, watching for any sign of where Jakata had gone. Luka stood nearby, watching for who had been following them. The illusion would have vanished by now, and they would have come back this way. And if they found the obnoxious idiot before Griffin did…

Rai ran halfway down the stairs before tripping and tumbling down them. He sat up, wincing. "Tori used the Find Tai Chi. He said Jakata is slowly coming back."

Luka turned to him. If Jakata wasn't moving that fast, that could mean he had gotten into a fight and, barely, managed to survive, and was probably injured. Luka sighed. And at one point he had thought Rai and the very annoying ability to survive….

Phoebe ran forward. "Jakata!"

Just outside of the trees someone was helping Jakata walk. Jakata managed to take a few steps forward by himself, greeting Phoebe. Even from the distance it was easy to see he was in a lot of pain, but not was much as when Phoebe hugged him. She turned to the other person, probably another warrior, likely thanking him. The warrior helped her bring Jakata back, and helped take him inside.

"He was fighting another warrior, a Rogue I think, and almost lost," the warrior said. "He's lucky I was nearby." The warrior, if he could be called that, wore simple loose clothing and would easily go unnoticed if he were in a crowd. Unless someone looked close. One eye was red-orange and the other was an icy blue. His accent indicated he was a Tigeroid, although it was mixed with the same Earth accent Rai had. "His jaw and shoulder should be looked at."

Rai walked faster to keep up, "What were _you_ doing out there alone?"

"I wasn't alone. I was out with my friend and we heard a fight. He's making sure the Rogue is far away from here before coming back to find me."

Rai opened the door to let everyone else pass, glancing at Luka, "He could be a Rogue. His friend could be bringing more of them!"

"I don't think he is."

"Well if he is than I'm going to take him hostage and make him tell me everything."

… _And Luka had called Jakata the obnoxious idiot…_

Jakata sat down at the table and let Miya check his injuries, wincing often.

The warrior sat nearby, "We were looking for the Chil-heng when we found him."

"What are they, anyway?" Rai asked, "The Rogues attacked us a few days ago. They didn't like it when they found out that I'm the—"

"Rai!" Luka glared at him.

"They're very old and powerful items that correspond with the elements: Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, Earth, Air, and Life. Finding them is very difficult. And it's almost impossible to activate them."

"Why? We've been—"

" _Rai!"_ Luka glared at him again.

"No one knows. It is said if one manages to gather and control all of them he or she will have enough power to rival the Tai Chi King."

Rai cringed.

Jakata let Miya gently check his injuries, wincing when she checked his shoulder and jaw. Miya stepped back. "Donha, hold him still." She quickly pushed against Jakata's shoulder. There was a _pop!_ and Jakata stared at her with wide eyes, gaping. "His shoulder is good, but…" she looked up, "I can't fix a dislocated jaw."

Jakata leaned away from her.

Luka sighed and walked forward, turning to Sora and Miya, "Use Soothe and Numb on him." He turned back to Jakata, who Phoebe now helped sit up. He decided not to give a warning it was going to still hurt and quickly shoved Jakata's jaw back in place.

" _Ow!"_ Jakata glared at him, "You could have said something!" He continued to rant, often repeating himself. Luka closed his eyes, breathing out slowly, clenching his fist. He looked up when Jahara set her hand on his and slowly shook her head, mouthing _"No"._ Jahara briefly left and brought a cookie back, instantly getting Jakata's attention and silencing him.

Miya turned to the other warrior, "You don't look like a healer. So how did you know what was wrong?"

"Because…" he hesitated, almost continued and then corrected himself, "Two of my friends are very good healers. They even know how to treat diseases that are known to mainly exist on Earth."

Miya stared, eyes wide with interest, "I have to meet him."

He laughed nervously, "They don't have a lot of free time, with their jobs and large family to take care of."

Miya nodded, "I have seven blood-related and five adoptive siblings."

"Last time I heard they have ten children and are adopting more."

Everyone stared, blinking.

Tori looked up at Donha, "That's almost as many as the cousins on your mom's side…"

"How do they remember all of the names?" Sora asked.

The warrior shrugged, "They're both from large families themselves."

Phoebe and Miya got up, taking Jakata with them because he started to fall asleep. As they stepped into the hall they cried out, startled. A small dark-gray creature flew in and landed on the warrior's shoulder. "They're gone, Ryong." Its body and tail were a little shorter than Duran's, and its head resembled that of a tiger with a dragon's snout. It had short, thick whiskers and antlers like Duran. Its dark-gray fur was decorated with a striped scale pattern.

Sora stared. "What is that?"

The dragon-tiger-thing stood up straighter, "Baekho is Baekho, Ryong's friend. Baekho is a Hybrid."

Sora glanced at Rai, "He's like you."

"You're a Hybrid, too."

"In the reverse order you are."

Rai stared, face blank, "What does that even mean?"

* * *

Hak looked up from the radar, "Someone is nearby but I can't tell where they are."

"We should leave," Duran said.

Griffin sighed, "I talked to Luka about it, but we can't leave yet. The new guy, Ryong, said we should wait until Jakata at least heals for a little while. Something about the air pressure could be bad for his injuries."

"It will be even worse if the Rogues find us."

"I know. But I'm not going against orders…" he looked away.

Hak sat down, "What is Rying going to do? He's going to be a target too, now."

"We don't know yet. He is going to stay for the night. He might stay because he knows a lot about the Chil-heng."

"…You don't trust him."

"No, I don't."

* * *

Jakata woke the next morning, almost fully recovered. Miya checked his temperature again, "… 36.3 (97.3). It's normal," she looked up at Jakata, "You heal really fast."

Griffin gave the earpiece back, along with giving Phoebe a blue Communicator. "I should have reprogrammed it earlier, sorry."

"It's okay," Phoebe said. "You didn't know you had to until earlier."

Miya turned to Jakata, "You can train as long as you don't overdo it."

* * *

They stood out on the deck, getting a quick training session in before it became overcast..

"When you use a Tai Chi card you need to control how you use it," Luka said, "Or—"

Jakata activated Heat, the flames enveloping his body, flaring wildly, not at all controlled. He leaped into the air, making it roughly twice his height before collapsing to the deck, the flames going out as he sat up, swaying dizzily.

"… That will happen."

Phoebe helped Jakata up, "Try again. You don't need all the power you can get."

"Power is more fun.

Rai nodded, "One strong attack is better than a weak one."

"Two weak attacks are better than one strong one."

Rai frowned, "No, because… because… It's twice as strong and…" he looked up, "That's right, right? Strength is better than numbers?"

"It depends," he looked up, "Use Heat again."

Phoebe backed away. Jakata activated the card and this time started to burst around before leaping into the air again. A Tai Chi character appeared on him and the flames vanished. Jakata yelped and fell to the deck.

 _Extinguish?_ Luka glanced around and saw a small cat sitting on the railing. Unlike Hak, who had white fur and Elita who had reddish fur, this one had colors unknown to its kind: calico. A tiny bell was tied to the end of its tail. It jumped to the deck and darted around, flailing its tail, ringing the bell.

Rai glanced at Luka, "You're blaming a lost kitty? Who would tie a bell to its tail?!" He crouched down and tried calling the cat to him.

"That guy?" Jakata pointed to the other side of the deck, where a cloaked figure stood, though the hood was back, revealing almost shoulder length light brown hair.

"Rogue," Rai got up, getting a card out.

Luka shook his head, "He has a Dragonoid Activator." _But Extinguish was…._

The cat started to run around, almost colliding with everyone before sharply turning, only to almost run into someone else's shoes. The warrior glared in Luka's direction, "I finally found you," he activated Lightning.

They all had to run out of the way. Rai nearly tripped over the cat. The stumble was enough for him to get hit, the blow sending him against the railing. He shakily got up, "I've been hit worse than that!"

He activated Fire twice to create Flame.

The warrior didn't seem to notice the oncoming attack until the stepped out of the way at the last instant.

Rai blinked, "What?" He activated Fire twice again. This time the warrior activated Extinguish to put out Flame. He stepped out of the way of Luka and Phoebe's Water attacks. He activated Lightning, one bolt sending Rai flying backwards and one sending Jakata back inside. Phoebe ran after him.

Miya ran out, activating Thread, binding the warrior's hand.

Luka kept his Water card out, "Who are you looking for?" It couldn't be Jakata. The way the warrior fought, and despite the similarity with the cloak, didn't seem like he was even helping the Rogues. He looked as if he were in his late twenties, a few years older than Donha. The cat stayed near him, flicking its tail. It jumped up onto his shoulder and sat in the hood, resting its front paws on his shoulder.

"You know what happened to her," the warrior said, hatred in his voice. He didn't seem to notice when Donha came out. He yanked against Thread, breaking it. Miya activated Thread again, running across the deck. She tripped over her feet and fell.

Donha helped her up, "Are you okay?"

Miya nodded, "Mostly."

Luka glanced at them, "Take her inside."

Donha nodded and helped Miya walk back in.

The other warrior was slowly starting to circle around, "If it wasn't for you she would still be alive."

 _What was the talking about?_

The warrior activated Lightning. Luka activated Water, reflecting it back. The warrior activated Shield, having it become dome-like, spraying the water away from him. He activated Imprison. Heavy chains materialized around Luka and sent him to the floor. _Imprison was supposed to be like Cage, so how…?_

The warrior activated the Sight Tai Chi, softly lighting his eyes. He activated Claw; long, sharp claws extended from his knuckles. He ran towards Luka and leaped into the air. The characters for Fire and Cause flashed on him, combining into a Smoke character. He disappeared in a puff of smoke. Ryong ran out, "Baekho, tell them we have to leave, now!"

"Aye!" Baekho darted inside.

The chains disappeared, allowing Luka to sit up. The airship started to take off. Ryong watched the forest, glancing around, "It will take an hour for him to get back here. We need to get as far away as we can. He has a personal airship, it's small and fast," he turned around, "We need to get back inside."

* * *

Rai hissed in pain as Miya bandaged his arm, "Who was that guy, anyway?"

"His name is Torah," Ryong said, "As you saw, he's very powerful."

"What was with the cat?"

"Sight? She acts like eyes for Torah. He has a Sight Tai Chi, but I think he can only see colorblind basic, faded shapes."

Rai blinked, "I got beat up by a blind guy? I need to train with a blindfold," he looked at Baekho, "Tell Hak and Duran to land us. I want to fight him again."

"Rai," Luka said, "You're still not at full strength. Torah is too powerful."

"I'm tough!" Rai struggled out of his shirt, getting stuck on a sleeve, "Look at this! Huh, _huh?!_ "

"What are we looking at?" Jahara asked.

"My abs of steel!"

"Again, what are we looking at?"

Phoebe turned to Jakata, forgetting what she was about to say when she saw he had also removed his shirt. She stared for what felt like a very awkward amount of time and spun around, her face burning. Rai just gaped and stared at the floor, putting his shirt back on. "We don't have to stay grounded…"

"It will be easier to find the Chil-heng that way," Ryong said, "We should find them before the Rogues do. The leader wants them."

"How are we going to find them? They want the Hwagoyu and we don't even know what it is!"

Jakata managed to get his shirt back on, "The thingy? Yeah, that one's here." They all turned to him, "That's why I left. There was another one and one is that way," he pointed North-west, "It's far away."

"What are you talking about?"

Jakata turning to him, "You can't tell? The thingy is in your room."

"What…" Rai's eyes widened, "The boomerang." He ran off, "Miya! I'm taking it back!" Miya ran after him.

Luka turned to Ryong, "Is the Hwagoyu a music box?"

"If it has strange abilities and the character for Fire on it, then yes. Did it activate?"

Jahara nodded. "Yesterday morning."

"That's strange…" Ryong glanced over at Phoebe and Jakata, watching for a moment, "He's a Doll, isn't he?"

"You can tell?"

He nodded, "By how he's acted for a few hours. He can't be more than a few days old."

"Ten years, actually," Jahara said, "He was revived about five days ago. He was dead for eight years."

Ryong frowned, "It's nearly impossible to revive Dolls. Even if it does happen the Doll is basically an empty shell. Phoebe managed to bypass that, that's amazing for the Doll's creator….What?"

"Rai's father created Jakata," Luka said, "We still don't know how Jakata was revived. Phoebe found a badly damaged Life card and it activated on its own."

"That's unusual."

Sora came in, "Miya has Rai tied upside down to a pole and she's lecturing him. What happened?"

"Rai's music box might be the Hwagoyu," Jahara said.

"I'm going to help find the other five," Ryong said, "I know how to stop most of the effects."

Sora sighed, "So it's official now? You're coming with us? Well, at least we don't have to stuff anyone else in here…" she felt Luka's stare, "What?"

* * *

Late that night, while everyone slept, a cloaked figure appeared on the deck through the use of a Smoke Tai Chi. It had quite been difficult locating the airship, with it not only being well-hidden but also disguised through the use of several layers of various Tai Chi card effects. That didn't matter anymore, though. Now that he had finally found it, he could come anytime he wanted to, no matter where or how it was hidden.

* * *

 **For those who disagree with using heat to cure a fever, apparently it actually works. When you cool your skin your body will heat up to combat that.**

 **-But if it's a high fever, see a doctor about it, just to be safe.**

 **Ryong's name means dragon, and Baekho is the Korean version of Byakko.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Plasma57: There are that many spelling mistakes? I'll start going back and fixing them. Now that you mention it, I did forget to add some details with the OCs. I'll add some details for them, too (and this inspired a brief but kind of cute scene for an earlier chapter). Thank you for mentioning both of these.**

 **This chapter is a little shorter than the others. This is the first of the chapters that started to get longer and I had writer's block for about two or three months on this one (just because I didn't know what to name two OCs).**

 _Luka swung the stick around. Mishka still came to watch him, but that didn't bother him anymore. He no longer distracted Luka from—_

Thud!

 _Luka dropped the stick and held his head. He glared at Mishka, who was laughing. "It's not funny!" He stared. Mishka had still been quiet over the last six months, and had gone completely silent ever since Phoebe was born, as if birth shocked him (although Luka couldn't blame him, because he didn't remember anything after his mom telling him "the baby is coming")._

 _Luka offered him the stick, "Let's see you do better."_

 _Mishka stopped laughing and stared up at him, blinking. He stood up and took the stick, holding it awkwardly. He swung it around with one hand and hit one of the porch posts, startling him into dropping the stick._

 _Luka gave it back to him, "For now hold it with both hands until you're used to it."_

* * *

Jakata balanced the basketball at the end of the skateboard so it faced the basketball hoop.

"What are you doing?" Sora asked. Phoebe had asked her to stay with Jakata until she got back from talking to Miya.

"A trick shot."

"Just so you know Rai had a lot of practice."

"I'm going to get it on first try!" He stomped on the end of the board and the ball rocketed into his face, knocking him over.

Sora just stared, "Are you okay?"

Jakata sat up, "Ow…."

"Did Rai give those to you?"

"Yes."

"Then you can blame him for this."

They jumped when a loud _bang!_ came from somewhere above and a gray Tigeroid airship descended out of the clouds, one of its engines producing a long trail of thick black smoke.

Hak's voice came from Sora's Communicator. _"That airship is sending out a distress signal! See if you can stop or slow its fall!"_

Sora activated Water to put out the fire, but it didn't help much otherwise. Miya ran out, activating Thread, having the multiple long strands tie around where ever they could to both airships. She sighed in relief as the gray airship slowed and was able to safely descend to the ground as their airship supported and led it. She waved to the two figures that walked out onto the deck.

* * *

"This is Jae and Eun," Miya said, introducing the twins. Despite the twins being fraternal it was very difficult to tell them apart, even with Eun having her much longer hair in ponytails.

"Thank you for helping us," Eun said. She glared at her brother, "I told you not to go that fast."

"We were being followed. _You_ wanted to avoid them."

"I meant by using a Smoke Tai Chi or another Technique or Defense-type." They continued to argue.

"How do you know them?" Rai asked Miya.

"They were adopted by a Tigeroid family. Their original family sided with the Tigeroids," Miya said. She watched Sora, "Is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure… I feel like I know them…." It was _something_ about the pale yellow-green color of their eyes and their sand-colored hair; Jae especially with how his short hair curled a little. The only person she knew that had had similar hair to the twins didn't even look remotely related to them.

Donha and Tori came back.

"It's going to take a while to repair it," Donha said, "The fix will be temporary, but it should last until you can get somewhere where it can be repaired."

"You don't mind fixing it?" Eun asked, "We can always ask our brothers or sister to come and get us."

"If you were being followed you should stay hidden," Jahara said, "Do you know why you were?"

"No," Jae said, "They followed us for about half an hour. We couldn't tell if it was a Dragonoid or Tigeroid airship because of its size and speed. They were almost out of the radar the whole time."

"They might be the ones looking for us," Ryong said. "We have something they want."

Jakata stared out the window and turned back, "It's that way. Let's get it."

"You're looking for something?" Eun asked.

Jakata nodded before anyone else could respond.

"We can help you find it in return for helping fix our airship."

"If it gets too dangerous you'll have to come back," Luka said.

* * *

Their airship landed just outside of a cave that led into a snow-capped mountain. Griffin, Ryong, Tori and Donha had stayed behind to work on the twins's airship, and it was agreed Sena would stay to watch Yuna and Brave.

"You're sure it's here," Sora said, pulling one of her multiple coats closer.

Jakata nodded, looking around at the cave walls. "It feels echoey."

Jae gave him a strange look and turned to Eun, "And people tell us we some of the stuff we say doesn't make sense."

"That, and…" Eun turned to everyone else, "Why are you dressed likes it's winter?"

"Why are _you_ dressed like it's the middle of spring?" Rai asked.

The twins looked at their jackets. Eun shrugged, "Where we live there's snow most of the year."

"We're dressed warm," Jae said, "It's going to be colder the deeper in we go."

Sora sighed and went on ahead, "The sooner we go in, the sooner we'll come out and get to warm up on the airship."

"I think wearing at least five jackets is warmer than the airship…"

Jae and Eun stayed in the middle of the group, glowing spheres created from their Light cards floating about them.

"Why would it want to be _here?_ " Sora asked, "Out of all the places it could choose, it chose where a death trap of icy death could kill us."

Luka and Rai turned, staring at her warily.

"Sora," Luka said slowly, "If it's going to involve dying, don't talk."

"Not _everything_ I say comes true."

"Have you ever just thought anything that has?"

"Well… no…"

Phoebe turned to Jakata, "Can you tell where it is?"

Jakata frowned, turning and walking around, "I lost the signal."

"How did you lose it?" Rai asked.

"I don't know. I had it and it went away."

They came a split path, the one on the left going deeper, and the one on the right going higher. Ice crept along the walls on each.

Jakata looked between both paths, studying how, strangely, the left path had soft, natural light and a cold breeze coming from it. "That way!" he ran ahead.

"Jakata!" Phoebe ran after him.

"Is he always like this?" Jae asked, letting the others pass him.

"Unfortunately yes," Sora said, "He can be even worse."

* * *

Luka jumped over an especially slippery patch of ice and helped Jahara across and then Miya. Finn jumped across. Sora barely too two steps and slipped, tensing for a second when Jae caught her. He gently pushed her across. Eun followed. Rai stared down at the ice, smiling smugly. "I can make that," he backed up several steps and ran, jumping over the icy patch, only to land on another one and went sliding into the darkness, crashing further down the path. "I'm okay! Ow…."

Finn led the way further, checking for ice as they went on.

Miya slowed to match Sora's pace, "You don't have to be scared of Jae. Or is it because his hands are always cold? Eun said one of her biological brothers had cold hands."

"He just surprised me," she watched as the twins talked. There was _something_ about their laugh that was so familiar….

* * *

Rai held onto a rock for balance, looking around him at the wide ring of ice. "Fire only makes it melt and it freezes again. Sword felt like it was going to shatter after stabbing the ice a few times, and Ball only came backwards."

"You can just fly over," Sora said.

"My wings froze and my Army card refuses to work."

"Your minions know it's too cold."

Rai gave her an annoyed look. "Just help me get over there."

Jahara activated Thread, having it tie around Rai's waist and pulled him forward. Not even a third of the way across Thread snapped. Rai fell and slid back again.

Eun slid across to him and helped him stand up. "Do you know how to ice skate?"

"Well—"

Eun shoved him hard enough for him to make it across. She crossed without any problems.

Rai glared at her, "You didn't have to shove me."

"You got across, didn't you?"

Rai turned and continued down the path, much more careful this time. Eventually he stopped, watching as water dripped from a stalactite. "That's weird." The water dripped into a shallow puddle that slowly trickled down the tunnel.

"Salt water freezes at lower temperatures," Eun said.

"But we're not even close to an ocean."

"If there are a lot of salt deposits in this part of the cave it wouldn't matter," Jae said. He followed the thin trickle, and sounded worried, "If this leads to a body of water and it does have ice around it—" somewhere ahead of them Phoebe screamed.

* * *

Brave watched, fascinated, as Sena created bubbles with Donha's Bubble card, keeping them aloft with a soft breeze from Wind. Yuna chased the bubbles around, attempting to pop as many as she could.

Baekho sat on the table, his head resting on his paws, "They won't let Baekho help because Baekho is bad with repairs."

"Do you want to help?" Sena used Bubble to create more bubbles of different sizes.

"Not really, but it makes Baekho feel left out."

"Maybe there are other things you can help with. Elita helps Griffin by getting him the tools he needs."

"Well…" he looked up as Griffin came in. Elita wasn't with him. Again.

Griffin glanced at Baekho before looking back at Sena, "Can I ask you something, again?"

Sena smiled. This was the fifth time he had come back. If he hadn't been accepted into her family and was something like an adopted brother, and if she didn't like him, she would have been annoyed with the first question. "I'm sure it will be fine."

"I wanted to know when a good time to ask would be."

"Probably not until you're ready," Griffin twitched, "It would be better to wait until the stress of the Chil-heng and Rogues is over."

Griffin nodded, "Yeah, good idea," he watched as Brave joined in chasing the bubbles, "Do you think they're doing okay? I told Sora I would help if they needed me to."

"If Sora hasn't called you yet that means they're fine."

* * *

Phoebe sat near the edge of the clear lake, looking around worriedly.

"Phoebe!" Luka ran up to her, half-slipping and almost fell into the water.

Phoebe looked up at him, panicked, "Jakata fell in! I don't know where he is!"

Rai turned to Sora, "I thought Dragonoids were natural swimmers because they're stronger in water."

A distance away Jakata surfaced, flailing, and crying out as he went under again.

Miya tensed, "He's slowing down…"

Luka sighed, mumbling something under his breath and dove in.

Jahara stopped the twins from rushing forward, "He's a strong swimmer." She looked back, watching. _The last time he was in freezing water…._

Luka brought Jakata back up and pulled him back. Rai, Finn, and Jahara helped pull them out.

"Jakata?" Phoebe sat next to him.

Jakata looked up at her, panting, "I'm cold and wet." He wasn't sure who, maybe Jae, make a comment of "Suhn's only Dragonoid that can't swim".

Luka sat up, and leaned against Jahara, shivering. Jahara looked up at Sora, :Do you have your Dry card with you?"

Sora nodded and activated it. In an instant Luka and Jakata were dry, their hair becoming very fluffy. Luka gave Sora and annoyed glare.

"Hey, you know I like it when it goes _poof._ "

Phoebe crawled over to Luka and hugged him, "Thank you for saving him."

Jahara turned to Jakata, "Is it nearby?"

Jakata shrugged, "I got distracted when I pulled Phoebe away from the water." He carefully sat up. "It's _somewhere_." He looked around at the multiple tunnels, most only accessible by crossing the lake, some completely underwater, like the one he had seen before that currant nearly pulled him in by some strong force that didn't affect the lake's surface.

"If we don't find it in the next hour we'll try again later," Luka said, slowly standing up with Jahara's help. If she noticed he was shivering she would only worry, and she had a good reason to, after he had gotten hypothermia and then pneumonia earlier that year…

Jakata stood up, "Wait…" he looked disappointed, "Lost it again."

"Maybe something is blocking you?" Sora suggested.

"It's somewhere that way?" Jakata pointed to a tunnel across from them, the only way to get there was crossing the lake.

"How do you expect us to cross?" Rai asked, "The water won't freeze and we don't have a boat." He looked over at the twins, "You have a Smoke Tai Chi, don't you?"

Eun nodded hesitantly, "Yes, but it takes a lot of effort to move yourself or others to a place you've never been before. It's too risky at the moment. You could be sent to a closed part of the cave, or even in a cave a few kilometers away."

"Because Dragonoid cards are weaker in the cold?" Sora asked.

Eun nodded, "Only someone that's mastered Smoke would be able to do it."

Luka leaned a little more heavily against Jahara. Out of all the cards they had, none would work that well because of the cold, and because of the water.

Jakata stared at the lake and then at the cave. "Freeze it with Ice."

"That won't work," Rai said.

"Not if you did it in chunks," Jakata said. He turned to Phoebe, "Water." Phoebe activated Water, and large chunks of it froze, falling into the lake. Jakata frowned, staring hard. "Now…" he looked at the nearest ice chunk, "We all stand on it and I have Insect push us across."

"Insects die in the cold," Rai said.

"Then I can just activate Cannon a bunch of times and push us across."

"We can just slide across," Jae said. He turned to Phoebe, "Use Water again until there's a path."

Sora and Luka helped, though Sora's was a lot more focused. A long bumpy path went across.

Jae turned to Finn, "Can you use Ice to even it out?" He waited until the path was smoother. "And now we slide across," he turned to the others, Eun the only one without a shocked expression, "What?"

"Everyone here is at least part-Dragonoid," Sora said, "Dragonoids are bad on ice."

"Do you have a better plan?"

"Well, no," she turned to Rai, "You're not planning on melting the ice, are you?"

"If I melted it a little bit it would frost over and we would have traction, right?"

Eun shook her head, "No, not at all."

Finn walked past, taking Rai's Fire card.

"Hey!"

Finn activated the card and walked across, flames flaring around his feet with each step, leaving a trail of shallow footprints.

Jae and Eun crossed next, using the footprints. Eun waved over, "It's safe." The others crossed on at a time, Jakata insisting they go first.

"It's going to disappear," Finn said.

Phoebe frantically waved Jakata over. Jakata looked at the ice path, smiled, activated Heat, and ran across. He almost got to the other side when the path began to rapidly dissolve. Hissing rose from where he fell in. Jakata came back up, flailing and coughing.

"Luka!" Jahara shouted as he dove into the water to save Jakata. His movements were slower this time. She helped Luka back out when he got back. "I could have just used Thread to pull him out. He was close enough."

Luka shook his head, "Thread would have broken again," he felt the effects of Dry, but was too tired to give Sora another annoyed look. Why was he still cold? Dry worked on multiple layers of clothes, didn't it?

"Do you want to rest for a while?" Jahara asked.

Luka shook his head. He leaned against her, shivering worse than before.

Jahara looked up at the others, "I need to take him back."

"You wouldn't have to if we had a heat source," Rai said.

Everyone slowly turned to look at Jakata.

"What?" He sighed, "Fine." He activated Heat, glowering at almost everyone as they surrounded him. "I'm not a campfire."

"Close enough," Jae said.

Jahara watched Luka closely, noticing how his breathing was slowing. She looked up, "I'm taking him back."

Jae offered her his Smoke card. Jahara thanked him and activated the card, taking herself and Luka back to the airship.

Phoebe turned to Jakata, "Are _you_ feeling okay?"

Jakata nodded, "I'm not cold anymore," he let the flames disappear, much to everyone's annoyance.

They went down the tunnel, Rai going first to create footholds the way Finn had done.

Jakata looked around, more alert. "It's nearby…" they came to another cavern with a single tunnel ahead, and another next to the one they came out of, leading up. "It's that way. No… that way," he pointed in all directions wildly, "That way that way that way that way that way!" his voice came out in a whine, "I'm confused."

"It's moving?" Sora asked.

Jakata nodded miserably, still pointing.

Finn turned, eyes narrowed at one of the tunnels behind them, "We're being followed," he activated Ice, which was countered by a Fire Tai Chi.

Two cloaked figures, the same two of the three that had attacked them, walked down the tunnel, the one wearing the necklace holding two cards, one being a Fire card. His necklace pulsed softly. He took a few steps back, staring at Rai, "What...?"

Rita turned to him, "Kyu?" when he didn't respond she turned to everyone else, "So you didn't find it, either?"

"Nope," Sora said. "I thought there were three of you," she turned to Rai, "There were three, right?"

Rai nodded, "The third one is getting the item, isn't he or she?"

Rita spoke, "No, he's still on our airship, ready to attack yours if I tell him to." A Communicator was in her hand, "Let us take the item and your friends will live."

Jae stepped forward, turning to the others, "Go find it. We'll fight them." Eun, Finn and Miya joined him. Miya smiled, nodding to the others.

They nodded and left. Sora turned to watch. Jae had activated Thorn, using it in the form of a whip, the way he stood and held it was so familiar…. She bumped into Phoebe. "Hey…."

"It's that way…" Jakata ran back.

Sora let out a long sigh, "Why…" she followed, "Why are we going the way we came?!"

The fight stopped as they ran through, this time through the other tunnel. The tunnel went up, unlike how most of the others had been.

Jakata stopped again, frowning, "Where…?" They were at a dead-end. "It's behind us now…."

"Make up your mind," Sora snapped.

Rai looked at the walls around them. Despite it was just as cold as before, there wasn't any ice, like where they had been in the other tunnel. An explosion came from behind, shaking the walls around them. Chunks of rock fell. Rai activated Fire, having multiple blasts knock the rocks away enough to keep them from crushing everyone. When it was over the way back was completely blocked off.

Phoebe turned to Rai, "Can't you just move the rocks? You are the Tai Chi King."

Rai smiled smugly and nodded, "Okay," he walked up to the rocks and punched one of them. His face contorted in pain as cracking came from his hand.

Sora stared, "...You _punched_ it?"

"I wanted to make the rock wall move backwards with Move," he stared at his gloves, "Must be blocked it. I should have at least broken one..."

"I can do that," Jakata punched the rock closest to him and yelped as his hand cracked.

Sora just stared at them, and her Light card faded, causing her to scream, "We're all going to die!"

Jakata activated Heat and sat next to Phoebe.

Rai gaped at him, "Don't use Heat. You're going to use up all of the oxygen!" Sora stared at him, horrified.

"Do you want to die cold in the dark, or warm in the light?"

"Neither. I want to get out of here."

"None of our cards will work," Sora slowly slid down to the floor, "Fog could work, but it's water-based, so we'd all freeze in little tiny death particles. Anything else will either not work or kill us in the process," she laughed nervously, "We're all going to die here and no one will find us. Years from now cave explorers will find our skeletons and say 'Yup, those are the people that got trapped because they couldn't find the item'."

Rai stared at her long and hard, "I thought you had the Link Tai Chi."

Sora looked up at him, "Huh?"

"Just tell Luka—" he hesitated. Luka couldn't help them…. He turned to Jakata, "You know, dying in the cold will be better. That way we'll pass out before we die from lack of—" he watched the flames. They were still flaring at the same rate, and occasionally flickered. "…What?" A stone from above fell and hit his head.

" _Is everyone all right?"_ Jae's voice was muffled.

Sora looked up and rushed to the wall, "Yes! We can't get out!"

" _Stand back as far as you can. I'm going to use Thorn to knock the rocks away."_

They went to the farthest corner. After a moment the rocks caved in from three strands of Thorn. Sora stared at them, wide-eyed, as they disappeared.

"Why aren't you helping the others?" Rai asked.

"We managed to get them into the cavern. Eun won't be able to distract them with Transformation forever," he activated Thorn again, having it clear the path ahead. He ran back.

Jakata looked between both paths, frustrated, "It's both ways now…."

"We'll go back and help the others," Rai said, pulling Sora with him, "Go on ahead."

Jakata nodded and followed Phoebe. "…The signal is getting stronger."

"Why do you think it keeps moving?"

"Don't know," he looked at the ice around them, "It comes and goes." He pulled Phoebe back as she nearly fell into a wide hole. Down below was the pond. There was enough of a view to see the fight. Jae and Eun constantly switched back and forth with the Move Tai Chi, and would attack with Thorn and some other similar card. The others weren't there….

Jakata stared at the pond, hard. "Now it's there…." He looked up and around at the rest of the open space. There was a wide enough path to walk around the hole, and there were a lot more tunnels. None of them had ice.

"There might be another way down there," Phoebe looked around at the tunnels. One to the far right went down, and seemed to match up with a similar tunnel in the cavern below. "Maybe over there?" she walked over to it. The ground beneath her feet crumbled and she fell into the pond below.

" _Phoebe!"_

* * *

Tori peaked out the window, "Where are they?"

Duran floated around nervously, "They're still out there. Their airship is cloaked."

"Are they going to attack us?"

"Probably not," Ryong said, checking for any damage to the engine room's machinery, "There were only three of them and they all went into the cave. The last one must have been told to leave the airship and join them."

"Leaving their airship unguarded is a bad strategy," Elita said, "Either the last one to leave isn't very smart or he wants us to think he is to trick us into boarding the airship."

Donha finished checking one of the machines, "…What if he decided to work alone and let the other two fight?"

Ryong sat back, "It he's the Rogue I think he is, then he's going after the item, allowing the other two to be bait. He'll be able to find and take it with him before the fight is over."

* * *

Phoebe slowly woke, groggily glancing at her dim, icy surroundings. It took her a moment to register flames surrounded her, and Jakata was very awkwardly holding her, though he was dozing as he sat against a wall, slowly causing the surrounding ice to melt into a giant puddle that steamed away. It was possible he had Heat work for a set amount of time. Phoebe had seen Luka doing similar things with Water and the card worked on its own even when he had fallen into a deep sleep. Of course, whenever that happened Water would go out of control and Luka would wake up wet….

Heat began to fade, its warming affects leaving, letting the cold start to come back. Jakata made a face, waking up. He smiled sleepily at Phoebe, "Hi." He helped her stand up.

Phoebe looked around them, her eyes adjusting to the dark, "Where are the others?"

"They're somewhere. I think."

Phoebe stared at a small pond near them. She looked up at Jakata, "Did you save me?"

"I don't know. I really wanted to, and then I kind of jumped in…" He glanced at the pond, "It sucked us here. There's some kind of currant in there."

"Will we be able to get back?"

"We should," he looked around, frowning, "It's nearby. It feels like it's everywhere again, but closer."

There was only one tunnel, and it was faintly lit by light reflecting off of the ice that covered its walls. Jakata led Phoebe through the tunnel, matching her pace and supporting her if she slipped. The faint glow slowly grew brighter. At the end of the tunnel were steps that led up to a small cavern, brightly lit with a light pulsing from once source: A scale-like object standing on an ice pedestal. It had the character for Water in its center, between the two shallow bowls. Each side slowly tipped back and forth.

Jakata pressed a hand against his head, wincing, "It's really strong now…" He took a step closer and started to tip over.

Phoebe helped him up, although she had difficulty standing, too. "How are we going to get near it?"

"Don't know yet," he looked around. There were stalactites on the ceiling. For a second he though he saw something behind a stalagmite move, but couldn't be sure, because of the light coming from all directions, so there weren't any shadows. He watched that spot carefully. The light pulsed again, creating the slightest flicker of a shadow.

This time Phoebe saw it, too, and activated Flower.

A Tai Chi card activated and multiple tiny characters appeared on the petals, making them disappear. A cloaked figure stepped out from behind the stalagmite. A small white dragon lied across their shoulders, watching. The dragon shared similarities to Duran, though its whiskers and horns were shorter. Instead of red, its eyes were a deep blue. And its facial features were softer than Duran's. It looked up at the cloaked figure, speaking in a light musical feminine voice, using an angelic language that Phoebe never heard before. The cloaked one was very likely one of the three that had appeared at the house several days earlier, the one that had only stayed in the back. The dragon wasn't present at the time, so Phoebe wasn't sure.

The figure –the third of the Rogues?- said something back in the same language, the voice more masculine. The dragon nodded, telling him something.

Phoebe was still unsure what language they were using, but felt as if they had said each other's name at least once. That's when she heard the Rogue say Jakata's name. The dragon looked over at Jakata and turned back, doubt in her voice. The Rogue said something further, one of the words being Roman. _That was one of Jahara's brothers…._

Phoebe took a step forward, "You know Roman?"

They stared at her, shocked into silenced. The dragon shouted something, panic in her voice.

The Rogue activated Whip, the attack directed upwards. Two stalactites fell, landing behind Jakata and Phoebe, precise even though they had jumped out of the way.

Jakata laughed, "You missed."

The Rogue activated Whip again, this time the attack bound them to the stalactites. He turned to the scale.

"Hey!" Jakata frowned, "We saw it first!"

The Rogue turned to them and muttered something that sounded like "I know,". He took out to rocks and placed them on each side of the scale. The scale stopped rocking back and forth, and stopped pulsing.

Jakata blinked a few times. "It doesn't feel like it's everywhere now…"

The Rogue stepped back, looking around. He activated Smoke, having the card float in front of the wall in the form of the Heat character. He looked over as Jakata and Phoebe were freed.

Jakata farrowed his eyes, "I'm not helping you."

"Jakata…" Phoebe said quietly, "There isn't any way out…."

Jakata turned, "Fine, but _never_ hurt or make Phoebe cry again."

The Rogue spoke something that sounded as if it meant "You have my word." His tone heavily implied he respected those terms.

Jakata activated the card, blasting a hole through the wall. The Rogue turned back, gesturing towards the item and out the hole. He activated Smoke once more and disappeared.

"I thought he wanted it…." Jakata said, carefully picking up the item.

Phoebe slowly nodded. She went over to the hole and looked down. It was the cavern with the pond again, and the others were surrounding the two cloaked figures, who were tied up. Eun looked up and waved.

Rai's voice came over Phoebe's Communicator. _"What happened?"_

"We found the item," Phoebe said.

" _Good. Eun said she'll use her Move—"_ they were all suddenly outside again, near enough that the Communicators didn't have to be used, but Rai failed to notice, "card to take us back…" he looked around, "…outside…."

They were between the cave and an airship, the cluster of trees and pond nearby.

Sora closed her Communicator. "I told Jahara we're back. She said she'll come out."

One of the figures, the one with the necklace, looked up, "Can you untie us now?"

"You won't take the item?"

He shook his head, "I won't take the Sugoyu." After he was untied he stepped back, holding his hands up, watching the twins warily.

As the other was untied she bolted forward, taking the Sugoyu. She ran for the cover of the trees, ran sideways and then fell over. She struggled to sit up, swaying. She didn't notice Jahara until she spoke.

"I'll be taking that now," she took the item back. She frowned as the cloaked figures disappeared from a Smoke Tai Chi.

* * *

"Tell me again why both of you were punching rocks?" Miya used Frost and Numb to help position and splint their hands.

"I wanted to use Move to make the rock wall go shooting down the hall and Jakata said he could break a rock by punching it."

"...Did Move work at all?" she looked up, "Why didn't you use it to get out of there?"

"Because moving the rocks would have been better." Jakata nodded in agreement.

Ryong slowly sighed, "Oh no..."

Jahara turned to him, "What?"

"Sometimes Dolls will start to act like those around them, especially if they're 'related' to someone real..."

Rai stared at the item on the table, "It can't really mess with your senses, can it?" he picked it up, "See? Nothing happened," he stumbled back, "Whoa…" He blinked, shaking his head. "There are three of them…." Jahara took it away and set it on the table. Ryong frowned.

Phoebe turned to Jahara. "How is Luka doing?"

"He's sleeping," she looked and sounded relieved.

Rai managed to find his chair. "How come you're not affected?"

"Do you have a Break card?" Ryong asked, "Break cards, literally, break the effects of most of the Chil-Heng have on the holder."

Rai turned to Sena, "Can I borrow your Break card?"

Sena stared at him long and hard, "No."

Sora ran to Griffin as he came in and hugged him, "I thought I was going to die! You'll come with us next time, right? You're really good at not dying."

Griffin returned the hug, "If you want me to."

* * *

"You lost the Sugoyu?!"

Rita flinched when Yami punched another hole in the wall. There were a lot of them now….

"We'll get the next one," Tela said, "I'm going to help next time. The next one should be the Ponggoyu or the Mokgoyu," she turned to Dan, "We know where the Ponggoyu is."

He nodded, "We didn't know what it was."

Rita looked up, "There were two others with them, a boy and girl that looked the same," she glanced at Yami, "They looked like the boy who got away ten years ago, the one with the Transformation card."

Yami turned away, "If I ever find him I will kill him this time."

* * *

"You wanted to talk to me?" Ryong stood outside the door.

Luka nodded. He had been given strict orders not to leave bed unless necessary, "Jahara said when you heard about what happened today it seemed like some of Jakata's behavior surprised you."

"It did. Most Dolls have limited free will, so it's strange he would be able to choose to save Phoebe those few times. If he's able to make advanced choices like that than he's one of the Dolls with more human traits. That, or he decided to Bond with her," he held up his hands, "It's nothing bad! It just means he chose her over Gherba."

Luka sat back down. "Is this something common?"

"Not really. Very few Dolls have more human traits than the others, and the creator usually has no control over that. About twenty-two years ago someone created thousands of Dolls in attempt to get one with human traits, but as each one proved to be normal they were destroyed. When that one was finally created it was deemed useless because it couldn't go into Dragonoid state."

"Was it killed, too?"

Ryong shrugged, "It escaped with an airship, but its airship was shot down. Dolls are able to survive falls and hits that would be fatal to us, so I assume it lived. Dolls only live ten to fifteen years, so I don't think it's alive anymore."

Luka looked down, "…You're certain Phoebe will be safe?"

"Quite, but Jakata being near her isn't what you should worry about." Luka looked up. "There's someone working for the Rogues here."

* * *

The moon filtered through the clouds, giving just enough light to see the two airships. The Rogue stared down at them from on the back of his, now much bigger, dragon. _They only had to get the other three items, the other two already being easily within his possession. It wouldn't be long before his task was complete…._

* * *

 **Eun's name means silver ("Oon") and Jae means respect.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Originally I was going to post a oneshot along with this, but I got a major creativity block and I didn't have enough time to write it... This one is one of my favorite chapters.**

 _Luka and Mishka swung the sticks around, blocking each other's blows. Until they missed by an inch, hitting each other on the head. They dropped their sticks, holding their heads._

 _Sora and Phoebe sat on the porch, laughing and clapping. "Again again!"_

 _Luka glanced at his three-year-old sisters, and then at the other boy, the one that had come a month earlier, when the war had started. He was even quieter than Mishka had been and was extremely jumpy and always started to panic when anyone got close to him. Except for Sora and Phoebe. It was possible that he had had younger siblings because he seemed comfortable enough when they wanted to play with him. He was taller than Luka, and it was possible he was actually a few years younger._

 _Mishka picked up both sticks, "Do you think he'll let us look at his cards some day?"_

 _Another thing about the boy was that, strangely, he had an Activator and Tai Chi cards. One of the only way to get those was to join the army..._

 _"I doubt it," Luka took one of the sticks, "I can ask Mom if we can look at her cards when she feels better." For the past few weeks his mom had been feeling tired and overall not well. She had never been part of the army, but she still had an Activator and cards that she had promised to give to Luka on his sixteenth birthday._

 _"Do you think that will be soon?"_

 _Luka hesitantly nodded, "Yeah, it should be." He hoped that feeling of dread was wrong._

* * *

The morning sky was painted with shades of bright to dark red. Big puffy clouds drifted lazily across it. Griffin frowned, watching.

"Griffin," Sora said, frowning, "I am not going to do the laundry by myself. You promised you were going to help me." She lowered the damp shirt she was holding, watching him, his silence beginning to worry her, "Griffin? Don't _not_ respond. It scares me when you do that."

Griffin began pulling the laundry off the clothesline.

"Hey!"

"I don't like the sky. It's going to storm."

Sora looked up. "But there are hardly any clouds."

"Those will turn into storm clouds," he took the last thing –the shirt in Sora's hands- and put it in the basket. "It's too quiet and still out here." He unhooked the clothesline and put it on top of the clothes.

Sora followed him back inside, "It doesn't storm that bad this late in the year."

Griffin put the basket back in the laundry room, "Sora, trust me when I say it's going to be bad. Other warriors have thought the same thing and they never came back."

"Dragonoid or Tigeroid?"

"Both."

They joined the others –except for Luka and Jahara who weren't present-, who all sat around the table, talking. Phoebe nodded in response to something Rai had asked. "He used Whip to knock down stalactites and tie us to them."

Sora flinched. Whip _was_ a one of the more common cards, and a lot of warriors had it, but it wasn't one of her favorites.

"Did he say anything to you?" Sena asked.

"Yes, but he spoke in a language I didn't recognize. He understood what we were saying," Phoebe looked over at Jakata, who was attempting to draw. Yuna and Brave sat on either side of him, watching and laughing.

The twins, who had stayed overnight, didn't look like they understood.

"He just let you have the item?" Jae asked, "I thought the Rogues wanted it."

"I thought so, too…."

"He could be waiting until most of the Chil-heng are in one place," Ryong said, gesturing slightly, the movement enough to earn an annoyed look from Baekho. The tiger-dragon hybrid moved to Ryong's other shoulder and fell asleep again. "Then, he and the Rogues can take them."

"We'll be ready by then," Rai said, waving it off as it if wasn't a problem.

"They'll be ready too, Rai," Sena said. She looked up as Sora sat down, "You're back early."

"Griffin said there's going to be a storm later."

Eun turned to Jae, "We should leave soon, then."

Miya looked disappointed, "Are you sure you can't stay?"

"Mom will worry about us," Jae said, "We were supposed to be home last night. I called her and told her we would go back as soon as we could."

"Stay for breakfast, at least. You helped us yesterday," she looked up as Jahara came in and sat at the table.

Luka came in soon after and set a plate of chocolate pancakes in front of Jahara, "I'm sorry I woke up last night," he softly kissed her.

Jahara smiled sleepily, "That's okay."

Sena, Phoebe, and Miya helped serve the rest of the pancakes. Luka made sure the pancakes were cut into small pieces before they were given to Yuna and Brave.

Sena hesitated before giving Rai his, for just a second tempted to dump them on him.

"You're not still mad, are you?" He watched as she walked around the table to her spot, "It happened… days ago. Not yesterday."

Sena glared at him from across the table and kicked his leg.

Rai's "ow!" was muffled by the pancake in his mouth.

* * *

They stood on the back decks of their airships, at the time going in the same direction.

"Maybe after you find the rest of the Chil-heng or you're in the area we can visit again," Eun said.

Miya nodded.

Jae turned to Sora, "Did you figure out who we remind you of yet?"

Sora shrugged, "Not yet. Maybe I met one of your relatives."

Jae shook his head, "That's impossible. Our only living relatives died in the war eighteen years ago," he looked at Eun for help when Sora looked horrified.

"You don't have to feel too bad about it. You didn't know and almost everyone has lost at least one family member in the war. We're happy that both of us lived instead of just one of us."

They waved as their airship went on ahead.

Sora turned to Miya, frowning, "They look like they're eighteen or nineteen. How do they remember the war?"

"They're twenty-two."

Sora gaped and looked at the leaving airship, "They're what?"

Miya nodded, following her back in, "They have a way of looking older or younger than they actually are. They like to confuse people that way."

* * *

Luka thought over what Ryong had told him the day before. If what he said was true, that there was a traitor...

Everyone felt safe telling Donha their secrets, even though he always told the truth. If anyone would know, it would be him. It couldn't be Rai, because "It would go against _everything!",_ and it couldn't be Sena. Donha was very unlikely, so that left Griffin and Finn. They would both side with the Rogues if it meant protecting Sora and Sena. Tori wouldn't be able to keep it secret for more than five seconds and if asked it would most likely be something to close to: "What, _really?_ We have a traitor?! No, I don't know anything about it! Nope! I mean, Griffin/Finn have been acting weird lately, but that could be anything! It could be anyone else. There could be a Rogue hiding somewhere!"

"There you are," Tori walked up to him, "The others are waiting in the Command room. They told me to find you, but then I got distracted because noises were coming from the storage room again and I couldn't find anything... Do you think someone is hiding in there?"

"Was everyone in the Command room?"

"Well, not _everyone."_

"Ryong told me there's a traitor."

Tori stared, his face turning pale, "You... you mean someone is betraying us?" He sounded so hurt, "Why?" So he didn't know... "If Ryong knows one is here, why won't he tell us who it is?"

"He may not know, either. If anyone acts strange or takes interest in the Chil-heng let me know."

"Rai talks about them a lot."

"He isn't the traitor."

Tori nodded, "Yeah, he'd never be able to keep it secret."

"Keep what secret?" Rai walked up to him.

"That you're the Rogue traitor."

"There's a traitor?!" Rai ran down the hall, "Whoever the traitor is better get out here!"

Tori blinked, "Yeah, we're never going to find out who it is."

* * *

"Do you sense anything yet?" Phoebe asked.

Jakata shook his head, watching out the wide window that wrapped around the control center. Dark clouds were approaching, flashes of light coming from deep within. Lightning danced across the clouds, with the occasional stray bolt striking the ground below. Even with their distance away from the storm the rumbling was loud enough to shake the glass.

Sora watched, looking less and less calm, "Maybe it's just an early snowstorm?"

"Snow doesn't have lighting and thunder," Rai said.

"It could happen."

Luka watched the storm moving in faster now and turned to Hak and Duran, "Take us above the clouds."

"We won't be able to do that for long," Hak said.

"Just until the storm passes."

They nodded and the airship slowly began to rise.

Rain drops patterned the window, rapidly going from barely a sprinkle to a heavy downpour that drowned out everyone's voices. Chunks of ice hit the window, bouncing off, slowly creating welts that began to crack the surrounding glass. If the lightning wouldn't have been so close –and blinding- it would have been beautiful. An especially bright blast came from the side, momentarily flooding everyone's vision with spots they had to blink away, only for them to see they were going down.

"It hit one of the engines!" Duran wildly darted around, leaving Hak alone, "We're going to die!"

Sora grabbed Duran and put him back, "Not if you help. You're fighting against the wind. You'll be fine." She walked out of the room, not caring everyone was staring at her. Her voice came from much further away, "Why do we have to die in a flying coffin of death. _Why?!"_

Hak watched and stared down at his feet, "We're going too fast…."

Another flash of lighting lit up the sky, and a twisting long white dragon rose from below. Even over all the noise its musical cry could be heard.

It was the last thing they saw before impact.

* * *

Rai groaned, sitting up, "What did we hit?"

Trees surrounded them. The front window had spider-webbed, one of the windows on the side had shattered, littering the floor with tiny shards of glass that were occasionally scattered by the wind, and the storm still rumbled overhead.

The others carefully got up and began moving to the lower deck, avoiding the glass. Miya was waiting for them where the others were, taking care of injuries they had gotten.

"We're going to wait until the storm is over to check for damage," she said firmly, looking directly at Rai.

"I'm not that reckless. Most of the time."

Phoebe picked glass out of Jakata's hair, purposely looking away from where the shards had cut into his skin. He had thrown himself over her before the crash-landing, so he had gotten the worst of it.

Miya checked Finn, puzzled, "You must be really lucky. You only have a few shallow scratches."

Finn waited until Miya turned away before taking a roll of cloth bandages and left.

"Finn?" Sena followed him.

Miya glanced at the extent of Jakata's injuries and got her Numb card out, "This is going to take a while," she activated the card and carefully began to remove the glass with a tweezers with one hand, using the other to hold a magnifying glass. Despite the card's affects Jakata twitched occasionally.

* * *

"What do you think that dragon was?" Sora asked, "The lighter color I know for dragons is a darker gray. And it looked different from you."

Duran shrugged, "It could have just been a light trick."

"But we all saw and heard the same thing. I was watching from the hallway, so it would have looked different to me."

"It could have been another Hybrid like Baekho."

Sora turned to the Hybrid, "Do you look like that when you go big?"

He shook his head, "Baekho doesn't get that big."

Duran tilted this head to one side, "Why are you so worried about it?"

"It made us crash," she gasped, _"It caused the storm."_

Baekho's ears folded down and he turned to Duran, "Is she always dramatic?"

"Well…."

Sora turned to them, "There isn't a Guardian of the Sky, is there? Or maybe it was attracted because there are more Dragonoids than Tigeroids here?" she looked up. "Jakata. It wants Jakata."

"That," Baekho said, "or it was just a trick of the light and we heard the wind. Like Duran said."

Sora shook her head, her voice firm, "We all saw it, we all heard it, it wants Jakata or it will kill us first."

"Why does everything have to end in death with you?"

"Because when I live I'm happy I'm wrong," she turned as Luka walked in, "That dragon wants Jakata. It's working for the enemy."

Luka glanced at Duran, who shrugged. He turned to Sora, "Use your Sun card."

"It didn't work. It made it stop hailing, but it didn't work."

"Try again later. We need to repair the airship if we're going to—"

Behind him Jakata ran in and fell over, face-planting into the floor after being tied up with Thread. Miya glared down at him, "I'm not done treating you yet."

Jakata sat up, "But there's one near here."

"Really," she folded her arms, "Which direction?"

"West, I think?"

Luka frowned. _West was where…._

"Why didn't you sense it earlier?"

"I… don't know."

Jahara walked in, yawning. "The others are getting ready to go."

"Stay here," Luka said gently, he continued when Jahara frowned at him, "You didn't get enough sleep last night because of me."

"Luka, it was only a bad dream."

"If we need you I'll come get you, and if I get sick again I'll come back."

Jahara sighed, "All right."

"I'll stay here," Miya said, "Tori and Donha are going to repair what they can."

Before they left Luka gave his Link Tai Chi to Donha, "Sora will contact you if something happens."

* * *

The rain lessened as they walked through the woods, following the deep gorge the airship had created when it crashed. Eventually it ended, leading to a path that had years of neglect, the only hint it was still there were the slight ridges on the sides. Luka watched all around them. Even with the rain it was too quiet. With the obvious signs of no one having been anywhere near for a long time there should have been more wildlife.

Rai turned to Griffin, "You're not going to help repair the airship?"

"I promised Sora I would help find the next item."

Baekho flew back and landed on Ryong's head, shaking the water out of his fur. "There's a house ahead. Baekho didn't think a house would be near here. It's been empty of life for a really long time."

"Long enough to have been abandoned during the war?" Luka asked.

"Baekho is guessing so. It looks a lot older, but Baekho understands that some humans live in houses that are over three-hundred-years old—" he stopped when Ryong held up a hand. "It's a bit creepy. Like when you find a random abandoned shed that's falling apart in the woods near your home and you wonder how long it's been there because it's falling apart. What? Ryong, why are you looking at Baekho like that?"

Baekho's description was an understatement. The single-storey house stood in a weed-grown clearing, looking as if the slightest breeze would cause it to collapse into itself.

Sora stared, shifting uneasily. She glanced at Griffin, "You can go back if you want to."

He forced a nervous smile, "I promised I would help..."

Jakata stared at the house, tilting his head slightly.

Sora turned to him, her voice low with warning. "Don't tell me it's in there."

"Okay," he turned to Rai, "Tell Sora it's in there."

* * *

The inside of the house was dark. The front door opened to a short hallway with a narrow closet. Old well-used jackets hung inside. Pairs of old shoes ranging from those for a child to an adult sat beneath, the smallest pairs being messily scattered. Pots that had once contained plants sat on the tiny windowsill. The hallway led to a small kitchen. The wood-burning stove door was open, a pan that had once held what was possibly bread rested on the stove. Dishes covered with disturbing fuzz were piled in the sink. The table had plates covered in similar fuzz, the chairs at each spot were moved back. Interestingly, it was only five of the eight places, the other three looking unused.

Phoebe looked around, "This is creepy…"

"It's like who lived here suddenly abandoned it," Sena said.

"That can't be it…" Sora said, some confusion in her voice. She glanced around nervously. She jumped when Luka set a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you sense it, too?"

Sora nodded, "Why don't the others?"

Jakata was the only other one that seemed to notice, looking around, confused.

They went through another door that led to a cramped room with a few chairs and a toy chest in one corner. A hole had been torn through the wall. It was easily big enough to walk through. Tiny holes surrounded it. A smaller hole was in the wall across the room. Finn frowned, staring at the holes, particularly the smaller ones.

Griffin lightly gripped Sora's hand, following her, glancing around warily.

One of the chairs that had been tipped over had deep lash marks. Whatever fight had taken place had been brutal, judging by the dark stains barely visible through the dust covered floor.

Sora turned to Luka, "Do you think Tigeroids lived here? Most were captured during the first two years of the war," she glanced at the markings on the chair again. _No, they were in the wrong pattern, and had little edges, so they couldn't have been from…._

"I don't know yet. There were Dragonoids who were captured and executed because they sided with the Tigeroids," he looked around, lowering his voice so only Sora would here, "I haven't seen any pictures yet. If there are any, and they have writing on the back or even show armor or an Activator…."

"Maybe if we find someone's journal… Don't give me that look. You used to read mine all the time."

"Everyone has. You left it open on your desk."

"Ave didn't read it."

"There was a reason for that."

"Hey…" Rai slowly turned away from a closed door, "How can a door be locked if it doesn't have a lock?"

Everyone turned to him. Luka went over and tried turning the doorknob, his face paling as it didn't turn.

"Are you okay?" Rai asked.

"I'm fine," something in his voice an expression said otherwise.

"You're not scared of ghosts, are you?"

"No," something creaked behind him and he quickly turned, activating Pierce to attack what was there: a creaky floorboard. Luka slowly exhaled.

"You wimp," Rai said. The chair behind him twitched, tapping him. He let out a shrill scream.

Jakata laughed, until a door slammed and his scream was even shriller.

Sora stared at them both, " _Yuna's_ scream is more masculine than those." She didn't comment on how Griffin had yelped. She looked up as thudding footsteps came from above, along with other doors slamming open and closed. Her voice came out in a whisper, _"Someone is upstairs."_

Sena slowly turned to her, "There isn't an upstairs."

"What?" Sora squeeked. She screamed when the toy chest tipped over and the wooden blocks faded with age spilled out.

Griffin stumbleded away as a block darted towards him. The block missed, ramming hard into Ryong's foot, making him yelp.

Baekho chased after a block and pounced on it. "Baekho has a hostage!" The block sped up, turning sharply enough to knock him off. He darted around as several blocks chased him, "Baekho doesn't want to be a hostage!" He leaped into the air. All of the blocks leaped after him from all directions. Finn activated Ice, freezing them. They fell one by one, as if slowly dropped.

Sora looked up at Luka, "We're leaving. When it's Living against Ghost Ghost always wins."

"We have to get the thingy first," Jakata said.

"If the other people want it, that's fine. They can have the forever wrath of the ghosts."

Footsteps stopped in the center of the ceiling, followed by a distinctly different thud. Luka watched that spot, Activator and Pierce card ready.

Sora watched him, "Couldn't you, you know, just rip the doorknob out? That's how you broke into Rai's house."

"I don't want to anger them."

There was another loud creak, this time behind him, racing up the wall and to the ceiling. Luka jumped and activated Pierce, attacking where the creak would be next. The ceiling broke apart and water crashed down.

* * *

Miya stood on the back deck, using Frost to turn the drizzle into snowflakes. She watched as Donha repaired wires that were hidden by a panel she had never known about, "Do you think they're all right? This is the area were the war started..."

"I'm sure they're fine. There aren't any caves near here, and we haven't seen the Rogues."

"I've heard stories about this area. They're not good."

He looked up at her, "They might just be stories... to scare off anyone that wants the item."

"Maybe, but-"

The loud sound of splintering wood echoed, coming from where the others had gone.

* * *

The water spread out in all directions, taking the frozen blocks with.

Sora glared at her half-brother. _"Nice,"_ she shoved her Link Tai Chi in his face, "Donha said you scared Miya and I had to explain you destroyed the ceiling over a tiny noise," she yelped when the door opened from the water.

Rai cautiously peeked in, "It's a hallway with doors on each side. There's another one at the end."

"You go first," Sora said.

"Why me?! You wanted to leave, Luka blew up the ceiling," he pointed accusingly at Jakata, "He wants to find the thingy that's here!"

"You tried opening it first." Everyone else nodded in agreement.

Rai narrowed his eyes, "Okay, but then you have to do all my chores on the airship." He smiled smugly.

"But you don't have any," Jakata said. Again everyone else nodded in agreement.

Sora continued to have the stare-down with Rai and slowly smiled, "Ara wouldn't be scared."

Rai turned around and went on ahead. The others slowly followed him in.

Luka turned to Sora, his voice low, "Ara wouldn't admit it."

"Rai hasn't figured that out yet."

Rai stopped and took a step back, staring at a dust cloud in front of him, "Do we attack it?"

The dust fell back to the floor and a strong wind flowed around them, pushing them closer and closer together. Jakata kept Phoebe close to him, as did Finn with Sena. Sora hid behind Griffin.

The wind itself felt as if it were the emotion anger and hatred.

Finn hissed in pain when he reached for his Activator.

"Rai, activate a Defensive card!" The wind made Luka's eyes sting, so he couldn't tell where Rai was.

"I can't! It won't work!"

Sora flicked open her Cardholder, bringing out her most powerful card. She dropped it when whatever had attacked Finn hit her hand. The card, despite the wind, fell straight down, landing face up. The invisible attack stopped, the force now feeling like it was confused.

"Is that the card Ave gave to you?" Rai asked.

Sora nodded, picking it up. The card, Negate, had been the warrior's most powerful card because of its ability to nullify the effects of many cards, including the very dangerous Forbidden-status Hideous Tai Chi. He had given it to her over eight years earlier during the war, shortly before he had been sent back to Suhn for failing Mishka too many times (even though that mission had purposely been set up so he would fail).

The wind blew again, though much gentler now, somehow expressing apology, and, strangely, happiness. It nudged them further down the hall, though part of it stopped Sora from going any further than one of the rooms, lightly tugging her towards it as the door opened. The touch Sora felt around her wrist was what she always thought the loving touch of a mother would be.

The small room had a single bed and a bunk bed, and there was a short desk against the wall. Paper with faded pencil drawings were scattered on top, most of them of the larger dragon and tiger forms few spirits like Duran and Hak had. Some of them were of common animals in different poses. In the center of the table was an open book, the page showing the character for Negate. Not only was it the only book in the room –and possible the house- but it was a book containing information about all the Tai Chi characters.

Sora looked at a picture frame on the table and blew the dust off if it and jumped. The third youngest in the picture made her understand just exactly whose presence she had been sensing since she got near the house, and especially in the room. This had been where Ave lived when….

The two younger figures in the picture had to be around age three or four, and the others were an older brother, two older sisters, and the other two were his parents.

Tears came to Sora's eyes. _He really had lost the only family he had, way too early to have been left all alone. If she ever lost Luka or Phoebe…._

 _She couldn't stay there._ She began to leave when there was a thump. The now closed book slowly moved towards her, followed by the picture frame and the drawings –now neatly stacked-. A soft breeze blew, feeling as if it were asking her to take them.

"But…"

The breeze blew again, this time the word "please" could be heard.

Sora went back to the desk and put everything in her backpack.

"Sora?" Luka stood in the doorway, watching her.

Sora wordlessly showed him the picture.

Luka twitched, "So the ghosts are…"

Sora nodded, putting the picture in her backpack as she followed him down the hall, "What do you think happened?"

"I don't know. It was an attack from Dragonoids, but it could have been for any reason, even a mistake."

Sora frowned, "But once they saw the Dragonoid Tai Chi, wouldn't they stop?"

"I don't know if anyone else even _had_ Tai Chi cards," he turned back to her, "Negate was Ave's first card. It's part of the reason he became a warrior. Other than wanting revenge."

"Is this why he lived with us for a while?"

Luka nodded, "He never told us his name."

The others came out of the other rooms, mostly just one of them. Finn followed Rai out of one, their faces pale. He didn't let anyone else in.

Rai pointed to the room, "Don't go in there. Now I know why bones are kept inside." Griffin, who had been standing in the hall the whole time, immediately turned pale.

Finn quietly spoke to Luka away from the others, what he said make Luka grimace.

"There would have been another one…" Luka's voice was loud enough to hear, but not clearly.

Finn nodded, looking down.

Rai was already at the end of the hall, warily testing the doorknob. He jumped back when the door creaked open.

"They're not going to attack us again," Sora said.

"I'm just making sure," Rai said before going in.

The room had likely been used as a tiny greenhouse at one point, and, in way, still was. Just above each plant was a tubing system that dripped water into the pots with rainwater or melted snow, as the room held warmth very well despite the damaged windows. The plants were vibrant shades of green. They didn't look like they produced food, but they didn't look medicinal either.

Hanging on a string attached to one of the tubes was a collection of hanging pipes to a straight short piece of wood, which was attached to a roughly rounded wooden disk with the character for "Wind" carved into it.

"That's it," Jakata said, reaching for it.

A soft breeze blew through one of the windows, allowing the item to chime softly. One by one, everyone other than Jakata collapsed.

"Phoebe?" Jakata gently shook her, "Phoebe?!" He shook her harder, but she didn't respond, instead occasionally making a face and whining in distress, much like the others.

He could sense the ghosts moving around and looked up, glancing all around, not sure where they were. "What happened?"

The chimes moved a little more violently, but not from the breeze. So it was the noise from the thingy? Wait… Noise… Jakata activated the card, having the visible sound-waves surround Phoebe, with the effect of blocking any outside sounds.

It didn't help.

Ryong had said Break cards helped, but… He looked over at Finn and Sena. Did they bring theirs with them? He could have Insect swarm around the thingy, but their wings could generate enough wind to make it worse….

He watched the chimes swing gently back and forth. If Tai Chi cards had little or no affect, and there wasn't a way to stop the wind… He felt a tug on his jacket sleeve towards the item. Jakata pulled his jacket over his head and carefully approached the item, a few steps at a time and lunged for it, wrapping his jacket around it. He took it off and tested it by shaking it. The sound was muffled, but it was better than before.

He went back to Phoebe, gently shaking her.

Phoebe blinked a few times, her eyes clouded at first, clearing as she focused on him, "Jakata?"

He smiled, holding up his jacket triumphantly, "I got it!"

Phoebe continued to stare at him, looking like she was about to cry.

"Phoebe?"

She hugged him, sobbing, "I thought you were dead again!"

 _What?_

The others slowly stared to wake up and looked around, relaxing as they recognized their surroundings.

Jakata looked over at them, worried, "Why is she crying when I'm not dead?"

"Griffin?" Sora crawled over to him.

Griffin hugged her, shaking.

* * *

They started to leave, glancing around once more as the ghosts escorted them out.

"What will happen to this place?" Sora asked.

"Unless someone is willing to fix it it will eventually collapse," Luka said.

The ghosts suddenly rushed ahead, expressing anger. Screams followed.

The three Rogues, two from the invasion, one they didn't recognize, were huddled together as the ghosts surrounded them.

"Help!" one of them shouted.

Phoebe looked up at Luka, "Do we have to?"

"They don't need to die in fear…."

"All right…" she took a few steps forward, "They're here for the Ponggoyu. They can't get it now, so let them leave."

The ghost stopped the attack, though their malice could still be felt.

Two of the three, Kyu and the other being the one they didn't recognize, sank to the ground, relieved. The other, Rita, rushed forward and grabbed Phoebe, taking her hostage.

"Rita—" the new Rogue said, confusion in her voice.

"Give us the Ponggoyu," in her hand was a Movement card.

Sora frowned, "Why aren't the ghosts saving her?"

"Because they could hurt her in the process," Luka said, taking his hand away from his sword.

Jakata looked at the Ponggoyu and at the Rogue, "Take it," he went over and gave it to the new Rogue. She was about to speak when Kyu firmly said her name. It sounded like Tela. Jakata took Phoebe back with him, feeling everyone staring at him.

* * *

Torah watched as eight faded gray human forms walk among tall gray tree forms. He only knew which one was Luka by height and the slightest difference with his long hair. He would have liked to attack now, but the one with the big dragon was nearby. Whoever that was felt off, like he was older and more powerful than he appeared.

 _"They don't have the Ponggoyu,"_ Sight said.

Torah frowned. That was strange... Why would the Leader give up on it when it was his goal to gather them? He heard a leaf fall behind him, "What, Leon?" The world around him faded to darkness as the Sight Tai Chi lost affect.

"I found her, but she's well-guarded."

"She was that important?"

"Well..." he sounded confused, "She's still very important..."

"How much time do you need?"

"From what I can tell, a while. Maybe about a month and a half. It will give you time to find It."

By then he would have It, and he would have gotten his revenge long before then.

* * *

"What were you thinking?!" Rai glared at him. His voice was loud enough to scare away flocks of birds as they went back to the airship.

Jakata smiled, "We can always get it back. It isn't very fun having it because it's always noisy. If they want it that badly they'll know how to make it stop. Tai Chi cards don't work."

Rai still glared at him, "I didn't almost die for—"

Luka silenced him with a harsh, but tired, glare. He had been getting more and more irritable and jumpy.

Rai frowned and folded his arms, looking around, "Hey, where did Ryong go?"

"I think he went ahead," Sena said.

Jahara greeted them as they came back.

Luka relaxed, "Jahara…" he hugged her, softly repeating her name over and over.

* * *

"Do you want to talk about it?" Jahara asked. She sat next to Luka on their bed, rubbing his back. He shook his head. The only times he was like this... "Luka, it's okay."

He didn't look convinced. He barely seemed to notice when she got him to lie down. "Get some rest. I'm going to talk with the others."

Luka grabbed her wrist, his face pleading for her to stay. He had never looked _this_ worried and scared...

She couldn't help him if what was bothering him was shocking him into silence... She activated the Soothe card Miya had given to her, having it so the relaxing affects would allow him to sleep for a few hours. She left the door open and joined the others in the dining room.

"Did something happen?" she asked.

"The Ponggoyu made us relive some of our memories," Phoebe said quietly, trying to hold back tears, "The really painful ones."

That was it... "His were about when I was controlled by the Hideous Tai Chi. He has nightmares about it sometimes."

"Like last night?"

Jahara nodded and looked up, "If he wants to I'll talk about it more with him tonight. Maybe if we can find somewhere nice nearby it would help him relax more."

"He'll want to," Phoebe said.

Rai folded his arms, glaring at Jakata, "This wouldn't have happened if you didn't give it up."

Phoebe glared at him, "If you would have used Move than that wouldn't have happened."

"You know as well as I do that I'm not at full strength yet. I'll be able to activate those Tai Chi again."

Ryong looked up, "You have't been able to use your Tai Chi King abilities since they attacked you? Did one of them throw a cube at you?" he sighed, "That explains it. They really did take your ability away."

"They... they unkinged me?!" He turned to Jahara, "Did you know about this?!"

"I thought you already knew."

"Is this why I'm still having off-days?!" He turned to Ryong, "I'm supposed to be stronger than most Tigeroids and Dragonoids!"

"If they used the cube than it's possible they reverted your strength to average."

Rai gaped and got up, "I'm getting the cube back!" He ran off.

Ryong turned to Jahara, "Exactly how does he plan on doing that?"

"Give him a few minutes to figure it out," she looked around, "Where's Griffin?"

"With Sora," Phoebe said, "He was really pale and quiet... Did something really bad happen to him?"

* * *

Sora turned the white glow-in-the-dark seal plush she had bought for Griffin underneath Light, "It's okay."

Griffin sat on his bed, leaning against the wall, "...It isn't..."

"Mishka is gone now, so he can't come back for you," she sat down next to him. All she knew about what had happened back then was Mishka had attacked the airship Griffin had been on and he had been the only one to escape alive. Since then he blamed himself for what happened and had developed a fear for that Mishka would come back and kill him, too, when it was dark.

She didn't completely understand this. Griffin was a former member of the Royal Guard and he was strong enough to defeat Luka in a fight. "If you want I can stay here tonight."

Griffin twitched, "Um, no, you don't have to. Where will Finn sleep?" He glanced at the other bed.

"He doesn't. He told Sena Dolls only sleep when they get really bored and want to pass time. Oh, you want Finn here because he'll be awake all night and keep guard. Okay."

Griffin forced a smile, "Y-yes, that's right." He did want her to stay, but if Luka got angry, he'd never be able to... It would also ruin his chance to talk to Finn about who the traitor could be. He had an idea of who it was. If Rai didn't scare them off when he was screaming before. He often heard sounds coming from the storage room, and he didn't doubt the others did. So whoever it was could be using the back room...

* * *

Soothe didn't loose its affects until later, and when it did Luka jerked awake, sensing an all-to-familiar dangerous presence. He winced, holding his head. For just a second scales appeared on his skin and his eyesight became sharper. The presence was gone now, but it couldn't have been... Who it was died eight years ago...

His voice was barely above a whisper, "Mishka..."


	6. Chapter 6

**Out of all the chapters, this is the closest one to a filler chapter (like how in each season of the anime there was that one episode that could be considered a filler, only they still showed character development or were used add more to the plot).**

" _Luka!" Mishka wandered around the woods, calling Luka's name over and over. Luka had run off hours ago, and it was starting to get dark. Neither of them were allowed out this late. He had already checked the hideout, but Luka wasn't there. Loroa had told him to let Luka come back when he wanted to, but why would he run away? He didn't react like that when they found out Sora's mom had died, or even when they were told that kid-who-they-never-learned-the-name-of-and-randomly-ran-away-one-night-and-didn't-leave-a-note's family died. The last time he acted like this was when the princess had been taken away by a Tigeroid._

 _He slowly approached a meadow, glancing around at the small aircraft that had been shot down and crashed there; the one he had been in four years ago. He didn't remember much before it happened…_

" _Go away, Mishka," Luka's quiet voice came from high above in a tree._

 _Mishka stared up at the lowest branch that was well above his height. Luka just_ had _to pick the one tree he couldn't climb. "We have to get back before it's dark."_

 _No response._

" _What am I supposed to tell Sora and Phoebe?" he jumped for the branch, coming within inches of grabbing it._

" _Leave me alone."_

" _Luka—" he finally managed to hold the branch with his fingertips._

 _Luka dropped down onto the branch, sending Mishka falling. "I'm not coming back," his face was tear-stained._

" _You have to," he stood back up, "Sora and Phoebe need their brother. You still have them, so you're not alone…." He stared at the ground, "…Like I am…"_

"… _I just need some time alone," he climbed back up into the tree._

" _Luka?" Mishka looked up._

"What?"

" _When we're old enough we can join the Royal Guard. We can rescue the princess from the Tigeroid and we can be her personal guards."_

" _Sure, Mishka," there was some amusement in his voice, "Sure."_

* * *

Luka woke to the smell of smoke. He would have been worried if it hadn't been happening the last week with how Jakata was attempting to toast bread with the Heat card. Jahara had been making food for him for a while now, even though he insisted he had mostly recovered from Ponggoyu's affects.

The smoke gradually got worse the closer he got to the kitchen. He stepped back as he opened the door, allowing a cloud of smoke to billow out. Thankfully a few of the windows were open, but that didn't explain… that….

Jakata stood in front of the stove, his attention focused on a frying pan that smoked despite the food was still raw and the lack of oil.

 _He was going to regret asking…._ "What are you doing?"

"Cooking," he poked what was in the pan with a wooden spoon, "Jahara asked me to."

Luka turned to Jahara, who stood at the countertop, eating what looked like a gooey blob topped with poorly chopped fruits and vegetables. "… Do I want to know what he's making?"

"He's been asking if I think certain ingredients would go well together," she nodded, "Surprisingly they do."

Jakata looked at him, smiling, "I can make food for everyone!" He yelped when the still raw food suddenly caught flame. He slammed the cover over the pan, watching the flames die out through the glass cover. He slowly exhaled, "It's okay now."

Luka stared at the pan, "No, it's not," he turned back to Jahara… only to find she wasn't there.

* * *

Jahara stood in front of the bathroom sink, pressing a cool damp washcloth against her face. It made her feel a little better, even though it had been another false alarm.

"Jahara?" Luka stood in the doorway, watched her, his expression matching the scared, worried one he had had almost a month and a half earlier when he had been affected by the Ponggoyu.

She smiled weakly, "I'm fine. I'm just going to have to stop eating anything Jakata makes."

"You got sick before?"

"A few times, starting about a week ago," she set a hand on his shoulder, "At least it isn't Sora's cooking," she walked towards the kitchen.

Luka followed her, "Is there anything you want?"

She stopped for a moment, "Chocolate."

Luka nodded and went to the storage room. He still didn't know where the crates of chocolate bars came from (no one did, actually). Somewhere above there was a thud, followed by Jakata crying out, startled. Although… the thud sounded as if it has also come from nearby, but the room did echo and magnify sounds. He got a few chocolate bars and left, unaware he was being very angrily watched.

* * *

"And this is why I don't bake bread," Jahara said, holding a bread pan in her hands. Everyone watched as she turned the pan over and the bread fell out, landing with a loud heavy thump.

"Whoa…" Rai poked it with a spoon, "You could break stuff with this."

Phoebe looked up at Jakata, wanting to warn him against trying to toast the bread, but noticed his hostile expression towards Luka. "Jakata? Why are you glaring at him like that?"

Jakata blinked and the hostility vanished. He winced, pressing a hand against his head.

Phoebe watched and turned, "Miya?" she led Jakata out as Miya followed them into the hallway, "He's been having headaches for a while now."

Jakata nodded.

Miya turned to Jakata, "Are you drinking enough water and getting enough sleep?" He nodded. "On a scale of one to ten, how bad are they, and how long do they last?"

"Sometimes they don't hurt a lot and sometimes they suddenly come and go."

"…Okay then…. If they get worse or they become for frequent let me know."

Jakata nodded.

They rejoined the others.

Jahara shook her head, "Someone will have to stay to watch Yuna and Brave. I trust Hak and Duran, but they won't be able to do much if Brave falls down the stairs."

Luka nodded.

"I can stay with Jakata," Phoebe said, although she wasn't entirely sure what was going on.

"I'd like it if you came with us," Luka said.

Jahara turned to him, "Jakata could stay."

"Alone?"

"Well…"

"I can stay, too," Rai said, "Everyone here knows what's edible more than I do."

* * *

The airship landed long enough to let everyone off, Jahara being the last to leave. She gave Jakata and Rai very serious glares, "Make either of them cry and I _will_ hurt you." By the tone of her voice it sounded as if it didn't matter who did it because she'd punish both of them, the innocent one because he had let the other disobey her. They both nodded, smiling widely. Jahara gave them one last glare and then left.

The airship rose again, so that it would stay airborne until they got back in case the Rogues would try stealing the Chil-heng.

"Well," Rai stretched, yawning, "I'm going to go take a nap."

"What?" Jakata stared at him.

"It's only going to take one of us to watch them and there's a better chance I'll make them cry."

Jakata wasn't going to argue with that, "But…"

"…Let's have a contest. If I win, I'll go take a nap. If you win, you get to watch them."

Jakata followed him back in, "Okay…"

Rai turned to him, "Contest!" He whipped off his shirt. He stared at the floor when, once again, he lost to Jakata.

* * *

Jakata hid behind one of the crates in the storage room and peeked over the top, watching the open door. He had left it open so Yuna and Brave could find him easier. It was his turn to hide. He could still hear them counting, something he had also mostly guessed at after ten.

He sat against the wall, bumping into another crate. He jumped when the cover moved. It was mostly empty, filled with less than half of the chocolate bars it held at one point. Another crate was partially open, containing a lot of wrappers. That was weird… Just to the right of the crate was a door, and it looked as if a crate had been moved away to make it accessible. There were paths as thick as the crates all around in the dusty floor, like someone had been moving a crate around, but there weren't any footprints.

Maybe there were cookies in there… Jakata reached out to turn the doorknob when Yuna and Brave tackled him, making fall forward and face-plant into the door. He laid there on the floor, stunned.

Yuna laughed, "We found you!"

"Found you found you!" Brave repeated.

Jakata sat up, "Do you want to play another game?" He closed the door behind them as they left.

Yuna looked up at him, "Piggyback ride?"

He glanced at Brave, "There's only one of me..."

Elita darted past them and screeched to a halt, her claws digging deep grooves into the floor, "Hide them. A few Rogues are here."

"Can you distract them?"

She smiled, "Griffin isn't here to tell me _not_ to hurt them," she ran ahead.

Jakata led Yuna and Brave to Rai's room, "The Rogues came to play one game of hide and seek. Go hide under one of the beds. They won't find you there. If you hear me yell wake up Rai and tell him the Rogues are here."

"Why won't they play with _us?_ " Yuna asked.

"Because they know you'll win. They want to feel like they can, so they want me to find them."

They nodded and went to hide. Brave pushed the door close, waving to Jakata, "Bye-bye."

Jakata went to the kitchen. Now, what could he use as a weapon?

* * *

They had had luck in finding enough fruits and other wild plants to fill a basket. Some of the plants were for medicinal use. It wouldn't get cold in this part of Suhn for another few weeks, so they were getting food while they could. They had only misjudged two things: They didn't have enough baskets, and how much of the food they had before it had been sacrificed to Jakata's cooking. Both required going into the nearby small town to get more supplies. But a group of eleven –twelve counting Baekho- made them more visible, even if they split into smaller groups. Griffin wasn't with them, as he was scouting the area.

"Some of us should stay and find more food," Tori said, carefully rearranging what was already in the basket to make more room.

"I still need to find more herbs," Miya said, "So I can stay."

"I'll stay here in case there are Rogues nearby," Ryong said.

"I'll stay, too," Donha said.

"Wait," Ryong said as they began to leave, "There's a good chance you could be recognized. The Rogues might have friends in town or they could be there, too."

"I have an Illusion card," Tori said.

"You'll need to be with us," Sora said, "It needs the user to be nearby and it's unpredictable how long it lasts, unless you know how to use it like a Self-type Tai Chi." They all watched her, looking reluctant, "I'll just adjust our cloths and hair. We'll all recognize each other." She activated the card anyway, though no one could actually see the changes. She smiled and went on ahead.

* * *

The town, more of a village, was quite small, likely having a population of under two hundred, maybe three hundred if anyone lived on the outskirts. There was only one shop, which sold the items and food the villagers made or grew. Some of the items, such as flour and sugar, had to be asked for because they were more valuable. The shop was where a lot of the town's income came in, actually, because the village was a good destination for travelers to stop between the larger towns.

The workers put together what Luka had asked for, glancing at him occasionally with strange looks. Jahara didn't notice, distracted by the candied fruit display. Luka smiled and turned back, "May I also have two bags of candied fruit?"

Phoebe came up to him, "I'm going to get some candy for Jakata."

"He doesn't need the extra energy."

"I promised him."

"Phoebe…" he turned as the shop bell chimed and Finn, Sena and Sora came in, their reflections barely showing on the window. The Illusion card made it look as if Sena's hair was long again and in an elaborate braid down her back. Finn's hair was in a high ponytail (Luka was going to ask Sora "Why?" later and probably regret it), and Sora's hair looked like it had been over eight years ago, when she used to dye it black.

They all froze for a moment and began taking immense interest around them, Sora's interest becoming real when she found the bottles of the hair dye she used to use, especially after the time when she once tried the hair dye from Earth that the humans used and it had turned her hair black for weeks.

Jahara tapped Luka's shoulder, glancing at the baked-goods display.

One of the Rogues stood there, the third one that had invaded their house over two months ago.

Luka shook his head, smiling reassuringly. The Rogue didn't recognize them. Yet.

Sora walked over, her voice low, "Illusion is still in effect," she glanced at the reflection in the window to be sure and giggled. She had made Phoebe's hair longer and in a braid like Sena's, and Jahara had short hair again. Luka's hair didn't change, except for the color. She was sure she heard one of the workers say "So _that's_ the friend she bought the pink dye for," followed by another saying "He must have decided to live with it until it washes out."

As they left the Rogue followed them until they stopped and turned to him. He spoke in a strange language. A white dragon peeked out from inside his hood.

"'It's dangerous to be in one place for long if someone is looking for you,'" she said, her accent strange, "'Especially in a group of limited numbers and where help can't reach them.'"

Phoebe stared at the dragon, "…Jakata…."

* * *

The Rogue opened the door to another room, this one being the storage room. Maybe it was in that back room…

Jakata crept up from behind and hit the Rogue's head with the loaf of bread, knocking him out. That was the third one that he had to knock out that way. The first one he knocked out was by accident. The Rogue had thrown the bread at him and he hit it back with a frying pan.

He dragged the Rogue over to the closet and stuffed in him with the other two. Elita had said she didn't know how many there were, but there weren't any more…

Elita padded up to him, "I can't find anyone else."

"How did they get here?"

"They have a small airship outside," she watched Jakata run down the hall. She shook her head, letting out a sigh.

Jakata peeked over the guardrail of the deck, studying the airship what about one fourth the size of the Tigeroid airship. Sideways propellers allowed it to hover in place. _It wasn't as good as the engine, but…_ Jakata dropped the bread. It fell into one of the propellers, causing it to jam and ignite, sending the aircraft into a smoky downward spiral. Before it could hit the ground and go _boom!_ a Tai Chi character appeared on it, making it vanish.

Well, he had defended the airship. Jakata took one step towards the door and an intense wave of dizziness came over him. He held onto the guardrail for support and then fainted.

Kyu watched atop a floating platform. He had found him… He activated two cards rapidly and vanished.

* * *

When Jakata woke up he rolled onto his back, looking up at the pink and orange sky. Rai stood nearby, "Yuna said you were napping face down."

Jakata slowly stood up. _His head hurt…_

Rai went back inside, "The others are back."

The others stood around the table, sorting out what they had found. Phoebe greeted Jakata with a hug, "I'm sorry we got back so late."

Jahara picked up Brave and set him on her lap, letting him help by putting fruit in the piles she pointed to, "Did they behave?"

Jakata nodded, "We played a few games until the Rogues—" everyone looked up, stopping what they were doing, "I made sure Yuna and Brave were safe. I knocked the Rogues out _and_ destroyed one of the aircraft propellers with the bread," he smiled proudly.

No one looked impressed. Tori and Donha continued to put the food in baskets again.

"You took out the Rogues and their airship with a _loaf of bread_ ," Sora said.

"Yes."

They stared. Tori and Donha started taking the baskets to the storage room.

Jakata frowned, "Really, I did!"

"You didn't eat anything I made, did you?" Sora asked.

Rai nodded, "The last time I did that I thought everything was talking to me."

Sena turned to him, "Is that why you were arguing with your spoon?"

Rai quickly turned back to Jakata, "Maybe you dreamed it when you fell asleep on the deck."

Jahara glared at Jakata, "You did _what?_ "

Jakata held up his hands, "I defended the airship…" he pointed accusingly at Rai, "He took a nap and I got dizzy and passed out!"

Miya and Phoebe looked up. Jahara's face softened, "Oh…" she slowly turned to Rai, "When did you take this nap?"

Rai looked nervously from side to side, "Uh….uh… sometime after you left…."

"When?"

Brave looked up, "He didn't play."

Yuna nodded, "We woke him up when we found Jakata napping with his face down."

Tori came back, his face a little pale, "Why are there three Rogues tied up in the closet and another one is knocked out in the storage room?" Finn got up and left.

Jakata frowned, "There were four?"

Luka got up, "In return for information we'll let them go. They're afraid of their leader, so we can relocate them if they want," he looked down at Yuna, who was tugging his hand. He let her lead him out of the room and down the hall a few steps, "Yuna…"

Yuna looked back at the room and then up at him, "Daddy, can I have a little brother or sister?"

Luka had difficulty responding at first, stumbling over his words, "Ask Mommy."

"But Mommy says 'No'."

* * *

Jakata watched where Luka had gone with Yuna. His thoughts were interrupted when Phoebe gently tugged his sleeve, looking up at him, worried.

"You have that expression again."

Jakata pressed a hand against his head, needing the other to hold the back of a chair. The pounding in his head had gone from a dull ache to pounding that worsened with any sound and light. The room spun and the floor flew up at him.

Phoebe shook him, "Jakata?"

Miya crouched next to her, "He said he got dizzy and passed out, right?"

Phoebe nodded.

Miya briefly checked Jakata's pulse, finding it faster than it should have been, "Help me take him to his room."

Donha helped with carrying Jakata out.

Jahara turned to Ryong, "Is he going to be okay?"

Ryong shrugged, "If it was just separation anxiety he would be fine by now." He looked up as Finn came back, "…Are you okay?"

Finn's face was very pale, "…They were Dolls…"

"They were remotely reverted?"

Finn nodded and sat down the Sena, reaching for her hand.

Sena turned to Ryong, "Dolls don't start to show symptoms when they start to die, do they?" Finn looked up at her.

"It varies, but yes. Dolls live between ten to twelve years, and when they start to die the symptoms can include personality changes, lapses in judgement, headaches, fainting, memory loss, and even symptoms of other sicknesses."

"So then…" Sena said quietly. If it still counted after he was revived, Jakata was ten when he had died, according to Phoebe. And Finn was almost twelve now... She held Finn's hand tighter.

* * *

"He seems fine," Miya said, "We'll have to wait for him to wake up to be sure."

"He wasn't dizzy before this morning…"

"My best guess is his blood sugar is low. If that's it than he just needs a glass of juice or a few cookies."

"And if not?" Phoebe followed her, though not very willingly.

"I won't know until I talk to him," Miya closed the door behind them, "It might even be stress." Lately, almost everyone had been stressed. It was likely the reason why Jahara had been getting sick lately and was eating more than usual.

* * *

Donha had made a large pot of soup and several dozen bread rolls to go with it.

Phoebe slowly ate, occasionally looking back towards Jakata's room.

Jahara turned to her, "If he wakes up he'll hear us. You can take food to him when you're done eating."

That didn't help much. It wasn't what Phoebe was worried about. Jakata had been acting weird even before he had started to get the headaches, especially the last time.

 _Something_ in his expression had been uncomfortably familiar… The last time he looked like that was when—

"Phoebe?" Luka gently shook her, getting her to look at him. "Do you feel all right?"

Phoebe nodded, avoiding eye contact. She could feel everyone watching her.

"Are you sure?" Luka asked, his voice suggesting she could leave if she wanted to.

Finn tensed, sitting up straighter, glancing around. He shifted closer to Sena. Ryong looked up, frowning.

The door that led to the hallway had been left partially open. It opened fully as Jakata fell in.

Phoebe ran to him, helping him sit up, "Jakata—"

He looked up at her, his eyes a strange blue.

Phoebe led him over to the table and stared questioningly at Finn, who was glaring at Jakata, very tense now. Ryong didn't seem to notice, but he looked like he was deep in thought and conflicted.

Luka stood up, "Phoebe," he didn't look away from Jakata, "Get away from him."

The others looked up at him.

Phoebe frowned, "Luka—"

Jakata ran away from her, towards the door.

"Jakata!"

Just as Jakata got to the door it flung open, hard enough to knock him over, though he ran into it hard enough to slam it shut.

" _OW!"_

Everyone looked at each other. _Was that…?_

Jakata dizzily started sitting back up, only for the door to open into his face, knocking him out.

"Did I get him?!"

Rai blinked, "Ara?"

Ara stared down at Jakata, disappointed. She looked at Rai, then at Luka. She stomped up to the albino, glaring at him defiantly, "You owe me chocolate."

"For the last time, I don't," he sat back down, slowly relaxing. He watched as Phoebe and Miya checked Jakata.

Ara sat down next to Rai, stealing Phoebe's seat, giving Luka one last glare.

"When did you get here?" Rai asked.

"A while ago."

"How long is a while?"

Ara took sudden interest in Sena's short hair, nodding in approval. She followed Sena's glare to Rai's smug smile, "You had something to do with it, didn't you?"

Rai's smile faded as he got up, giving Sena a pleading look, "I… I'm going to… help take Jakata back to his room. Yeah."

Ara turned to Sena, "What did he do now?"

"He set Sena's hair on fire," Tori said. He hid behind his plate when Sena frowned at him.

"I'm not going to ask why."

"Why didn't you let us know you were here?"

"I was going to tell you, but then I found the chocolate…"

* * *

Miya had Light float tiny, nearly blinding sphere on her fingertip, shining it near Jakata's eyes as she opened and closed them.

"They're dilating," she said, having Light lose affect and then checked the thermometer. "He's fine, just like before."

"Why did he act that way?"

"I don't know," she sighed, "We'll have to wait for him to wake up. Again," she looked up at Phoebe, "If he keeps getting up and fainting I'm going to use the Close Tai Chi on him until he fully heals." The Tai Chi created a stasis field around the one it was used on to put them into a sleep-like state.

Phoebe sat on the edge of Jakata's bed, "I'm going to stay here for a while."

Miya nodded and left.

Phoebe watched Jakata sleep. If Ara didn't knock him out… She wasn't sure how many of the others knew what had happened. Finn seemed to, likely because he was also a Doll, and for some strange reason Ryong also knew…

* * *

Rai turned, looking around the small room, gaping, "You _have_ been here for a while."

Ara had converted the room connected to the storage room. Empty crates were placed together with a mattress on top, the crates set sideways to serve as a storage place for the things Ara had brought with her. Other crates had been stacked for use as a bookshelf. Two crates in the corner were overflowed with chocolate bar wrappers.

Rai turned to Ara, "Where did you get the mattress?"

Ara sat on the bed with a book on her lap, the title being in a language no one else recognized, "I found it."

"How did you even do all of this without use knowing?"

"I waited until no one would notice," she gave an annoyed look to Luka, "Especially when _you_ stole my chocolate."

Tori turned to her, "Then the one that knocked out the Rogue in the storage room…."

Ara nodded, "He tried to steal my chocolate. He didn't see the book coming," she indicated to the very wide and thick book that, hopefully, didn't weigh as much as it looked.

Rai sighed, "I'm amazed you can live on chocolate and not get fat." He looked around, "Where did everyone go?"

* * *

Despite being on the floor above and on the other side of the airship the fight could be heard from Luka and Jahara's room. Just from the yelling alone they could tell who was winning.

"Should we go help him?" Jahara asked.

"If it suddenly becomes quiet," Luka said.

The shouting, particularly Ara's, got louder, followed by a crash.

Jahara turned to Luka, "If we leave again would you trust Ara enough to watch Yuna?"

"More than Jakata," he couldn't keep the note of bitterness out of his voice.

"I agree that he shouldn't be left alone for long, but Yuna and really enjoyed playing with him."

"Jahara…"

"You know Yuna is going to ask you next time."

Luka flinched, "Do I really never say no to her?"

Jahara patted his back, "You try."

"If we ever have another daughter she and Yuna will gang up on me, won't they?"

"Yes," she looked up as Miya knocked on the open door, "Is Phoebe okay? She didn't come back yet."

Jahara felt Luka tense, "I'll check on her," she said. The shouting suddenly stopped, "Could you check on them?"

Miya nodded, "I'll ask Sena to come help control Rai and get chocolate to control Ara," she left.

Luka turned to Jahara, "We have to get Phoebe away from him," the bitter tone had turned to hatred.

* * *

Phoebe sat on the edge of Jakata's bed, having been silently crying for some time, not wanting to wake Jakata. _She was going to lose him again! The only one she could ask to help was Luka and he hated Jakata and he didn't listen to her anymore!_

She felt Jakata move as he started to wake up. Jakata made a face and whined. "My face hurts," he carefully sat up, "Everything hurts…"

Phoebe studied his face. He looked fine…. "Miya said you're going to be okay," she was thankful the light coming from the hall wasn't enough to see her tearstained face.

"I don't feel okay."

"You ran into the door, remember?"

"I ran into a door?" He flopped back down, "Now my head hurts."

"Do you want me to get Miya?"

"No… just stay…" there was something like sadness in his voice, "Did this happen before?"

"Did what happen?"

"Someone is here, watching and listening," he looked at her, "Did this happen before? Eight years ago?"

Phoebe tensed. _He couldn't mean…_

The door opened more. Jahara looked in, "Phoebe, it's getting late. Miya was looking for you."

Phoebe nodded, and looked up, "Jahara? Can you not tell this to Luka?"

* * *

Ryong stared down at the table, deep in thought, "Dolls don't usually have personality changes like that."

"Eight years ago he was controlled by someone I used to know. Jakata hated that person and wanted revenge," Luka said, "The only way he got it was by using the Dragonoid Return Tai Chi."

Ryong looked up, "The only way for that to happen would be if the one that was controlling him like that used Switch, but only Dolls can use it that way."

Luka looked up at him, "…What?"

"You didn't know?"

He shook his head.

"When Life activated, it brought both Jakata and that Doll back."

Luka glanced at him, "…I knew him for more than ten years and he barely aged," he looked up, "He was the same Doll you told me about, wasn't he?"

Ryong nodded. "…I can tell you right now that Gherba wasn't the one that created him. The one that created him didn't know how to give the Dolls the ability to go into Dragonoid or Tigeroid state."

"…Then who created him?"

"The same one that shot his airship down," Ryong looked up, "Your father."

* * *

Kyu set a hand on the wall, walking down a dark pathway to the old, wooden door. Hesitantly, he knocked.

"Come in," a gruff voice said.

Kyu entered, closing the door behind him. He couldn't see anything in the dark room other than his leader's eyes, which were lit from the Sight Tai Chi. "The four that were sent failed, Sir," he cringed when he heard the floor beneath his leader's fist crumble and he quickly finished, knowing well enough of his leader's tendency to punish those that failed, "We found him. The one they call Jakata—"

"I have no interest in something that isn't real."

"The Chil-heng seem to work when he –it's- around, and he –it's- how they're finding them."

"What?" his leader's eyes narrowed, "It will make the plan succeed. Capture it and bring it here, in any condition as long as it's alive."

"Yes, Sir," Kyu left.

The leader got up and went over to another door that led to a dimly lit tunnel. Holding cells lined the walls, each having lacked a prisoner for hundreds of years, all except for one. The leader looked inside, "Your son is the one we're looking for. It was able to come back without you using the Life Tai Chi on it."

"Wh-what?"

* * *

 **Ara is an OC that belongs to Kimiko Heroux and from now on she will be in the rest of the story. She will unfortunately act out of character at times. I was unable to get her scenes to Kimiko in time for her to review. She is back in college and is too busy to look over the scenes. She was able to review very few of them and I already corrected those.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Plasma57: In chapter five, with Negate? Sora gets it during my Taiji Senjimon fanfiction. Or did you mean in chapter six when Sora had Illusion? Illusion is the same card Tori has (which is a little different from Ave's Transformation Tai Chi). Before I posted this chapter I went back to correct if I misspelled Sora's name as Sena, so thank you for pointing that out.**

 **This chapter might be a bit rushed.**

 **Warning: This chapter will contain extreme emotional outbursts and some name calling.**

 _Luka stepped out of the way of each arrowhead that flew at him, relying only on his senses where the attacks were coming from. He didn't know he miscalculated the last one until he felt a sharp sting across his cheek._

" _Luka!" Mishka ran over to him as he untied the blindfold._

" _It's a scratch," he dipped the cloth in the pond and wiped at the cut._

 _They had been training for almost two years now, and for some strange reason even though Mishka couldn't sense oncoming Dragonoid attacks nearly as quickly he never got injured, only ever getting light surface scratches._

" _If it was a real fight it could have been worse," he glared up at him, although his short height hardly made him look threatening. Ever since he stared to use Tai Chi cards he had become more and more obsessed with getting stronger. Loroa had scolded him for it, but…_

" _That's why I'm having you use Pierce. It's harder to detect than the other attacks," he walked away, tying the blindfold on again, "One more round and then it's your turn." It wouldn't be too much longer now. Although Loroa sided with the Tigeroids and actually didn't want Luka and Mishka to join the army, he wasn't going to stop them, instead having cryptically told them "Someday both of you will understand." He had said the same thing when he had told them stories about the Tai Chi King, and a story about the one who's job it was to prevent the story from ever happening again._

* * *

Phoebe groggily woke to sunlight in her face. It took her a moment to realize she was still in Jakata's room, laying on the other bed. She didn't remember falling asleep here…

It was light enough to be midmorning, so everyone else would be up by now. She already missed breakfast, but she wasn't hungry, not after what she found out the night before.

Maybe Finn would know how to help free Jakata. If not him, maybe Griffin would know. Ryong seemed to know a lot about Dolls, so he might know?

Phoebe got up and went out into the hallway. Jahara stood there, waiting for her, avoiding eye contact.

"Luka knows."

* * *

Jakata chugged the drink Miya had given to him to help with his headache and started to gag when it went towards his lungs instead.

"I said to sip it…" Miya said. The only reason she was there was because Luka had asked her to use Thread on Jakata if he started to act weird again. She wasn't going to question that nearly as much as to why the room was dark and lit only with the light above the table. Finn and Griffin were also present.

"When you get your headaches and dizzy spells do you ever hear another voice?" Ryong asked.

"Am I supposed to?" Jakata stared at the plate of cookies in the center of the table. They had said he would get one cookie for every correct answer, and so far they lied and wouldn't let him have even one. "Sometimes I feel like I'm being watched. That's before I black out."

"How many have you had?"

"A lot yesterday."

"Do you feel like you're being watched now?"

"No?" he frowned, "Is that what made Phoebe cry? She cried a lot last night," he narrowed his eyes at Ryong, _"Who did it?"_

"Someone named Mishka," Ryong said, "He could be trying to control you again."

Jakata folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, "Well he's not going to. He made Phoebe cry. He's bad."

Miya glanced at Luka, "At least both of you agree on something…."

Luka turned to Ryong, "Is it possible to separate them?"

"Not unless we have the Switch Tai Chi and the Marionette card."

Jakata cringed, defiance gone, and glanced at the door again, looking hopeful. He looked around, more alert, but his attention kept going back to the door. He sat up straighter as it opened, only to sink down in disappointment when it was Ara.

She frowned at him, "Don't give me that look," she turned on the light and turned to the others, "Where's Rai?"

"You're not going to hit him with a book again, are you?" Griffin asked.

"No, I need a book discussion buddy."

Luka turned to her, "You asked _Rai?_ "

Ara shrugged, "Everyone else is busy and he's the only one that's actually read books from Earth."

"Sora has read a few," Griffin said.

"I don't read sappy romances."

Jakata sat up straighter, looking conflicted.

"Is one nearby?" Ryong asked.

Jakata nodded.

Ara sighed, "I don't mind keeping the Chil-heng in my room, but do I have to ignore the chocolate bars on them?"

"If the scale doesn't have weights it will affect your senses and we've had problems with the music box," Griffin said, "Besides, if the Rogues try to steal them they'll also—"

Ara narrowed her eyes, "They're not getting my chocolate," she turned to Luka, "If you let them get near it…" she turned to Jakata, "You're the one finding them, so you'll owe me chocolate, too."

"Ara," Griffin said, "You can't just randomly demand that someone owes you chocolate."

"I can if there's a good reason. Jahara and Phoebe agree with me. Anyway..." Ara walked over to Luka, smiling widely and set a capped bottle on the table, pushing it towards him.

Luka stared at it suspiciously, "What's that?"

"Something humans call 'shampoo'. It's like soap for your hair."

"Why are you giving it to me?"

"It makes your hair really clean and soft. If you don't want it I can just give it to Jahara. It has a nice relaxing scent.

"…I'll think about it."

"As long as you don't squirt all of it out like Jakata did…"

Jakata glanced in her direction. He turned back, "It's really close now." Every time before he'd been excited to find the Chil-heng, so why was he so tense? He turned his attention to the door as it opened, thoughts forgotten as Phoebe came in and greeted him, looking much more relaxed than she had the night before.

* * *

"I'll stay here to help guard the Chil-heng," Ryong said, standing at the bottom of the stairs. He glanced past Luka at Jakata and Phoebe talking, "Unless Mishka takes control like he did last night you won't have to worry too much. If it does happen again the best thing to do is knock him out," he went back up the stairs, passing Jahara as she came down.

"Rai wants us to leave before—"

Ara charged down the stairs, "You're not leaving without me!" she stopped in front of Luka, "I don't care what you say. I'm still coming."

Rai stood at the top of the stairs and sighed. _Ara wasn't going to let him stay…_ He looked back, straightening as Sena spoke to Tori and Donha. _Sena could convince Ara—_ Sena and Finn gave them a few cards. "In case the Chil-heng activate," Sena said.

 _He was doomed._

* * *

"That doesn't make sense," Rai said, staying at an equal pace with Ara, "How can a wardrobe send you to another world?"

"It isn't any different than the portals we have," Ara said.

"It is. We can control ours."

It quickly turned into an argument from there.

Jakata turned to Phoebe, "What are they talking about?"

"I really don't know."

Jahara glanced back when the argument became about the time when the two had tried beating each other in height with high-heels. Whichever one it was, the first or the last one, she couldn't tell. She turned to Luka, "I'm going to hide my shoes when we get back."

Luka barely nodded in agreement, his attention mostly focused on watching Jakata and Phoebe. Phoebe laughed in response to something Jakata said.

"They're fine," Jahara said, "Ryong said Dolls that have bonded are very loyal. Nothing will happen."

"He kidnapped her."

"That was eight years ago and for childish reasons. He didn't know any better."

From what Phoebe said, back then Jakata did only know how to fight and she had started to teach him there was more to life than that...

Jakata held a slender tree branch back and let Phoebe pass, and then hesitantly waited for the others, too.

Rai held it, "Go on," he smiled and patiently waited for Ara.

Ara stared at him and ducked as she passed.

Rai gaped and followed her, letting go of the branch, only for it to snap back at him. "Ow!"

* * *

A moss-covered rock formation could occasionally be seen through the spaces between the trees. As they got closer it looked closer to man-made, corroding away from long-term effects of weather damage and plants growing out of the cracks. When they came to the clearing it sat in more eroding walls were around, occasionally rising into towers. Back when it was new, it could have been a castle of some sort.

Rai eyed it warily, "It's just like those ruins where the traps were nine years ago…"

Ara looked at it up and down, "I'd say it's over a few thousand years old, likely made back when the Sky-Earth clan still existed," she looked back, "And judging by some of the ruins a while back, yes, there were some, they were covered in moss, this could have been a small kingdom or a village."

The others looked back and turned to her.

"What makes you think that?" Rai asked.

"Before Suhn was split into the Tigeroid and Dragonoid territories there were lots of small kingdoms."

"That isn't going to help us find the Chil-heng."

"I know what the traps will look like and where they'll be."

" _Right."_

Ara picked up a small chunk of rock and threw it through one of the gaping holes in one of the walls. Arrows shot at where the rock had landed. Ara sighed, "Predictable." She went on ahead, stopping now and then to carefully draw something on a tile. She frowned, glancing ahead. There wasn't any grass between the tiles…

* * *

Rai stared at one of the pictures on a wall, "Is that supposed to be me?"

"Maybe," Ara said, drawing on another tile with her chalk.

"It can't be," he looked up at her, "You're standing on me with a victory pose."

"I know."

Rai glared at her, "Give me the chalk."

"Only if you tell me where the next trap is."

Rai looked around, "Give me a hint."

"I don't want to die." She drew another picture, this time one of Rai lifting a large rock above his head, "Better?"

Rai nodded, smiling smugly, not paying attention as the others passed. On the next tile Ara drew the rock again, only this time with Rai trapped under it, sprawled out and pleading "Help me". Ara hesitated and added a picture of her jumping on the rock victoriously.

She looked back, staring at Rai as he still looked and nodded at the picture. She turned to Finn, "Beat him at any game later to deflate his ego, okay?"

Walking around for over an hour did little more than finding more traps.

"We should have found it by now," Jakata said. He wondered around, carefully avoiding the marked traps on the floor.

"We're going to have to find a secret passage," Ara said.

"How?"

Ara glanced around, "By stepping on the right trap tile."

Rai gaped at her, "But you found over fifteen…."

Jakata walked over by a wall and looked down at a tile with a picture of Ara holding a giant cookie. He stepped on it and jumped back, yelping, as a section of the wall moved, opening up another path.

Ara looked inside, studying the floor, "It looks safe." She caught the back of Rai's shirt as he ran past, "As funny as it would be, you're not allowed to trigger a trap."

The others glanced at the pathway, looking at the half-collapsed walls.

Luka jerked back, inhaling sharply. He leaned against the wall for support and gave Jahara a weak smile, "I'm okay," he stood up straighter.

"You can go back if you want to."

He shook his head, "Jahara…" he hesitated.

"I'm craving chocolate again." Behind her Ara looked up, madly waving.

Luka nodded and left.

Rai turned to Jahara, "You just tricked him into leaving…"

"He knows. He just needed an excuse to leave. He might have been reminded of what happened eight years ago…" she said softly.

The path was long, most of the walls that had once surrounded it laid scattered about it, often there were ruins of rooms and other pathways along the way, usually with remains of furniture and scraps of cloth.

Rai looked around, "There are castles older than this one still in good condition. Why is this one a wreck?"

Ara shrugged, "A number of reasons. It was likely a target during one of the wars, probably one of the really early ones," she looked back, "Like when the originals of the pure Earth and Sky died."

Rai's face went blank, "The what of the what and what?"

"A very long time ago there were one of each of the Earth clan and the Sky clan –what we call Tigeroids and Dragonoids today. They were the first pure of each. Their job was to protect the Seven Elements. During one of the wars the Elements were either destroyed or disappeared. Those two original people died in the war, although strangely the body of the Dragonoid was never found."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I read that book Sora found in the haunted house. It has a lot of history of the Tai Chi One thousand and information dating back to when the Sky-Earth clan –Hybrids, dummy— first began to use the characters. It may be the last book of its existence because a lot of records were destroyed when Diga took over, especially copies of that book."

"Why?"

"To prevent anyone else from becoming Tai Chi King? I'm not sure. Not a lot of people can read and even fewer have Activators and more than a few cards."

"You know that book belonged to Ave, right?"

"If Sora is fine with touching it than so am I." She looked around and gasped, "Is the rare Jujak bird?" When everyone looked where she pointed she gawked and furiously rubbed her hands against Rai's backpack.

"I don't see it," Rai looked back down the hallway and stared at a tile. He ran towards it.

"Rai—" Ara was barely able to say his name when the next tile he stepped on sank, clicking. The hall floor collapsed, sending them into darkness below.

* * *

"I thought you would have gone with them," Griffin said, setting a plate of chocolate-dipped fruit slices on the table.

"Ruins have angry ghosts. I'm not stupid," Sora said.

"How do you know for sure it's ruins?"

"So far the Chil-heng have been in old places and there aren't any caves or buildings anywhere near here. So why not?" She looked up as Luka walked in and sat in a nearby chair. He was pale and shaking slightly. "Did something happen?" She didn't notice that Griffin got up and left.

"I needed to come back…"

Sora pushed the plate closer to him, "You need those more than I do," her Link Tai Chi wasn't telling her much other than something had really bothered him. The progress he'd made recovering from the Ponggoyu didn't just fall apart, did it? He'd been like this five weeks ago.

At least it wasn't like the few months after the war ended when he used to have nightmares almost every night… Between him and Phoebe having nightmares bad enough they would wake up screaming (and sometimes crying) Sora had barely gotten even a few hours of sleep, which was why she eventually went to stay with Griffin. He lived with Sena's family, and it was nice to be with her cousins.

That wasn't about to start again, was it?

"Where's Ryong?" Luka asked, "I need to ask how dangerous the rest of the Chi-heng are."

"They can't be any worse than the ones we've already found," Sora got up, "He went out on the deck a while ago," she turned as Luka started to get up, "I'll get him. Stay here and eat the chocolate."

On her way down the hall Griffin and Miya passed her. Miya nodded to Griffin and went on ahead.

"She's going to make sure Luka doesn't get another anxiety attack," Griffin followed Sora, "It must have been bad if he was willing to leave Jahara."

"Jahara can take care of herself and everyone around her, Luka knows that," she turned to him, "She didn't even have nightmares after the war. As long as she's safe Luka is more or less okay with being away from her."

Ryong wasn't on the deck, even though Baekho was napping on a crate in a patch of sunlight.

"Maybe he saw the Rogues's airship and decided to go warn the others," Sora said.

"He could also be looking around on the ground. If he did leave he would have taken Baekho with him to check small areas."

"You could be helping him with your tracking skills."

"I can't track if there's nothing to track."

Sora didn't comment, instead she watched as a familiar white dragon twisted through the sky, flying towards where the others had gone, the lone cloaked figure sitting on its back filled her with a dread she had forgotten over the years.

* * *

"Ow! What was that for?" Rai limped over to the wall, leaning against it, rubbing his shin.

"For ignoring me," Ara said.

"I thought I saw a trap tile."

"The ones that look like traps are decoys. You're lucky it wasn't one of the deadlier ones and all we got are a couple of minor injuries."

Sena had gotten a sprained ankle, and even though Jahara was limping slightly it didn't seem to bother her at all.

Jahara finished using Thread to tie around Phoebe's wrist and hand, "If we find wood or stiff roots I'll make a better splint."

Phoebe nodded, holding her wrist. Jakata sat next to her. Aside from a sore ankle he didn't have any injuries. He felt around and finally found Phoebe's glasses. He picked them up and gently pressed them against Phoebe's good hand. He carefully helped her up.

Phoebe cleaned her glasses and put them back on, "Which way is it?"

Jakata looked up and down the tunnel, "Both ways…" he looked straight ahead at the wall, "That way."

"It's in a room, then," Ara said. She knelt down and wrote on the floor, repeating "left" and "right" in a row on top of each other. She set the chalk at the bottom of the list and flicked it. It rolled and stopped in between two of the words. She looked up at Jakata, "Any ideas?"

"Stand it up and let it fall over."

Rai glanced back and forth at them, "You're letting the _chalk_ choose?"

The chalk pointed up the path. Ara nodded, "Yes we are."

They didn't make it very far. A pit too wide to jump over blocked them, the bottom lost in total darkness. Ara turned to Rai, pointing at the pit, "You did that."

"Why do you always blame me?"

"Because you always do it."

"Let's just go the other way."

"If this way has a trap that means we want to go this way."

Jakata looked around, studying the tunnel and then the pit. "If we swing across with Thread while using Wing and Heat after we're shot out of Cannon…."

"We will die," Ara said.

"But…"

Ara turned to the others, "Freeze it over and push us across with Wind."

Rai was the last to cross, slipping not even halfway there.

* * *

The dragon floated just above the ground outside the ruins, waiting for her rider to jump off before she returned to her much smaller form.

"Find the Mokgoyu before they do," he sat on a low stone wall, bringing out a blue Communicator.

The dragon nodded and disappeared through a small hole in the wall, having the basic idea of where the Mokgoyu was.

* * *

The ten minutes since they crossed the pit was anything but peaceful, not with Rai and Ara, not surprisingly, arguing again, this time actually looking and sounding upset.

"What's wrong with liking chocolate?!"

"Making people owe it to you!"

Jakata turned to Phoebe, "Are they okay?"

"They're not trying to kill each other yet."

Ara punched Rai, "You're a dummy!" she ran ahead, sobbing. She picked up a rock and, screaming bloody murder, threw it at the nearest wall. There was a click and the wall crumbled away, opening up another path. Ara slowly turned, gaping, "Rai did it."

"You threw the rock!" he stomped up to her.

She met him halfway. "You made me."

Jahara shoved them apart, her voice very firm, "Stop it."

The new path was lit by torches that were, strangely, still aflame.

Sena glanced around, at times watching the shadows. Finn walked over to her and held her hand, giving her a reassuring smile despite looking like he was about to cry.

Phoebe huddled closer to Jakata, holding onto his sleeve. Jakata glanced at her and looked at the base of the wall, staring at the rocks scattered along it. He picked up one that had been split in two. The half was hollow, lined with colorful crystals. He offered it to Phoebe. She smiled and took it, turning it in the light, casting reflections on the walls.

Shouts echoed down the hall, each one so frequent it was difficult to distinguish them. Further up the path there was a room on one side, where four of the Rogues were, two of them -maybe Kyu and one much taller than him- were in a fistfight while the other two, probably Rita and Tela, cheered them on. The fighting and cheering abruptly stopped and they grouped together, sobbing "I'm sorry!" over and over.

One of them looked up, "They're here too!" he turned to the others, "They're going to get it before we do!"

That only made them cry even harder.

Jahara pushed everyone on, "Let them be."

At the end of the hallway was another room, this one had no roof overhead, allowing sunlight to stream in. Moss and flowers covered the floor, and ivy grew up along the wall, some of it overgrown so much it bent back, creating a curtain. In the middle of the room was an ivy-wrapped sloped pedestal, on it was a small ring with blue and red metals twisted together.

Ara went on ahead, "This is the first time I helped find one, so I'm getting it."

"I never got to get one!" Rai said, his voice whiny. He took one step forward when there was a whir. A small section in the center of the pedestal popped up, sending the ring jumping into the air. The ring hit one of the pedestal's sloped sides and rolled down it and across the floor. It ricocheted off a wall and came to a spiraling stop on a tale, making that tile click.

Ara ran back, dragging Rai with her. Arrows shot out from the wall and stuck between the tiles. Ara glared at Rai and punched his shoulder, "Stay here or kill us all."

Rai folded his arms, "You can't tell me what to do."

"Fine, then you get the ring."

Rai stepped away, "I'll just watch and instruct you."

"I don't want to die." She carefully stepped between the arrows, watching for anymore traps. She picked up the ring, briefly studied the character for "wood" where the diamond would be, and put it into a tiny pouch she brought. She held it up, showing the others.

A white blur shot past, taking the pouch. A small white dragon landed on the pedestal, the pouch in its mouth. It shook its foreleg to untangle it from the access string that was used to turn the pouch into a pendent. The dragon darted out of the room and down the hall.

"Rai!" Ara shoved him, "Why did you let it take it?!"

Rai scrunched his face in attempt to hold back tears, "Why are you yelling at me?!"

Ara blinked back tears, "I don't know!"

They hugged each other, sobbing.

The dragon stopped, its path blocked by the Rogues.

Kyu turned to the others, "Have you ever seen one like that?"

"No," Rita said, "But we should take it back alive. If it's powerful…"

One of the Rogues activated a Thorn card. The dragon wove out of the way, struggling to evade various other attacks against it.

"Stop attacking her!" Phoebe activated Flower. The attack surrounded the dragon, spinning her up into the air, well out of the way of the Rogues. Jakata caught her, quickly stepping back to evade one of the attacks.

Jahara activated Break, ripping the floor between the Rogues, "Stop fighting," she said, her voice deathly firm, "You're going to cause a cave-in."

The Rogues slowly backed away.

"But Yami will be angry…" Tela said.

"He's always angry," the much bigger Rogue said.

Ara sighed and turned to Jakata, "Just use your Smoke card to take us back."

Jakata turned to Phoebe, who nodded. He gave the dragon to her and activated the card, "What about the Rogues?"

"The one with the Move Tai Chi will save them sooner or later."

The dragon looked around and floated out of Phoebe's arms. It hesitated and gave her the pouch before leaving.

Phoebe turned to Jakata, "She was with that one Rogue, right?" She stared at the pouch.

Jakata nodded, "He let us have the Sugoyu, too…"

* * *

When they got back Luka greeted Jahara with a hug. Luka's hair was still damp from a shower. Jahara petted his hair, "It's so soft…"

Ara glared at him, "You didn't bring any chocolate like you said you would," she started to tear up, "You lied…"

"It's in the—"

Ara went on ahead. On the table was a large plate of chocolate-dipped candied fruit.

Luka turned to Jahara, "You've been craving it a lot lately…"

Jahara started to tear up and hugged him.

Ryong looked up and turned to Rai, "The Mokgoyu?"

"Is it an evil reverse mood ring?"

"…Yes… It controls the emotions of those around it, and its affects last depending on how long one was exposed to it."

Phoebe's yelling came from down the hallway, "I'm fine! Stop fussing over me and just leave!" A door slammed.

Finn frowned, looking in that direction.

* * *

Phoebe came into the dining room a few hours later, her face tear-stained.

"Phoebe?" Luka got up.

"I told him to leave…" she looked up, "Is he still here?"

"We haven't seen him since we got back," Rai said.

Ryong stared down at the table, "I don't know if he will come back…" he looked back up, "Even if Phoebe wants him to. He won't want to upset her again."

"What if I ask him?"

"You could, but… Dolls can't disobey those they've bonded with, which means you. If you would have simply told him to leave, he would have had some choice, such as giving you some distance. But because you ordered him to…"

"Can't she just unorder him?" Rai asked.

"She could easily order him to come back, but puts a Doll under stress and causes a lot of pain, and if he doesn't want to upset her again and keeps resisting… it will kill him," Ryong looked up, "Just wait a few hours and then ask him to come back."

* * *

Jakata carefully avoided the trap tiles. There had to be another pretty rock here somewhere…

He jumped when something clattered across the floor behind him. He turned and stepped back. It was Kyu….

Kyu held up his hands, "I'm not going to fight you. Phoebe is upset, isn't she?" Jakata cringed. "Do you want to make her happy again?"

"I'm not going back until I find another pretty rock for her."

"I saw a few earlier," he led Jakata down another pathway, a different one from before, "They're in this room," he stepped aside, "Somewhere in the back. Oh, there's also a necklace with several hanja inscribed on it."

Jakata looked around, confused. Where—

A strong jolt of electricity coursed through him, knocking him out. Kyu stood over him, putting his Lightning card away and took out his Communicator, "I have him. I'll give you the coordinates for pick up."


	8. Chapter 8

**Plasma57: Ara and Rai have a love-hate relationship. Kimiko says that I pair them more than she does, but she did send me a long PM chain about them getting married... .**

 **The opening memory segment thing the beginning in this chapter will be the last one.**

 **This chapter will contain mentions of PTSD. I am not an expert on it so I apologize if I wrote/mention it incorrectly in any way.**

* * *

" _Luka, wake up!"_

 _Luka opened one eye, glaring at Mishka, who stood next to his bed,_ "What?"

" _The test is today."_

" _I know," he rolled onto his other side, staring out the window. The full moon was still out._

" _We'll be Royal Guards today."_

" _Not everyone passes the test."_

" _They do if they defeat the robots in time. Your army friend told you that, even though he never made it very far. His name is Garnia, right?"_

" _Go back to bed."_

" _We practiced a lot, and we always made it in time."_

" _Those robots are the weak ones."_

"So?"

 _Luka pulled the blanket over his head, "We'll talk about this in the morning."_

" _Aren't you excited?"_

" _Not at three a.m.," he shoved his head under his pillow._

" _It's not three. It's midnight."_

 _Luka sat up, glaring at him._

 _Mishka took a few steps back, holding up his hands, "Okay, okay, I'll go. But we'll pass the test today, right?"_

" _Not if you don't go to bed."_

" _Can I ask one more question?"_

 _Luka laid back down, "You're not too short. We explained that to them already." All those years ago, when Mishka had first started to live with them, he had been close to Luka's height. Now… not so much. Even Phoebe and Sora were taller than him…_

" _If one of us passes the test and the other doesn't, we'll still be friends, right?"_

 _Luka pressed his face into his pillow, "Yes."_

" _Good. Good night."_

 _It wasn't until later that day that their friendship began to rapidly deteriorate._

* * *

Phoebe stared out the window, watching the orange-red sky. "Shouldn't he have come back by now?" she turned to the others, "I know what Ryong said, but…."

"Did you try calling him with your Communicator?" Jahara asked.

Phoebe nodded, "He didn't answer…" she stared at the table where Jakata's Activator and cards were.

Ara looked up, "He's like Rai, he'll come back when he's hungry."

Rai turned to her, "Hey…"

Griffin suddenly stood up, knocking his chair over. His serious expression watched the screen of his Communicator. A tiny blip on the screen quickly moved away from their location, "Something is wrong… When I reprogrammed Jakata's earpiece I put a tracer in it," he looked up, "He shouldn't be moving this fast."

* * *

Jakata groaned, slowly blinking his eyes open. Several Rogues stood nearby, staring up at him and speaking to each other. He was suspended in midair by some force fastened around his wrists and ankles. The room was dimly lit from a light source behind him.

"Should I activate Lightning again?" one of the Rogues asked.

"We can't risk it going wrong. We could risk damaging or reverting him," another said.

One of the other Rogues walked over to them, "This had better work, with how long it took to find and restore his body."

If everything didn't hurt so badly he would have been able to concentrate on what they were saying. It didn't sound like they were talking about him, though…. Off in the corner, where a lit hallway was, stood the Rogue with the dragon. He watched before turning away and leaving.

A Rogue from behind spoke up, "Go ahead, everything is set."

Kyu turned to one of the others, "Do it now before he figures it out."

The other Rogue activated a Tai Chi, stirring unfamiliar but very painful memories as the Switch character took effect.

* * *

Rai looked up at the old deteriorating building. "Are you sure he's here?"

Griffin nodded, "It says he's here."

Luka stared at the building, frowning. This had been a research facility around twenty years earlier, but when it was discovered Dolls were "mass-produced" it was shut down, and all the Dolls were destroyed….

Sora shifted uneasily, constantly telling herself "He's not here he's not here, he's on Earth," over and over.

Baekho jumped down from a high window and returned to Ryong's shoulder, "Jakata's here and…" his voice trailed off.

Luka caught Phoebe when she started to run ahead, "Go back to the airship."

"Luka—!"

"It will be better if it's a smaller group. The Rogues might kidnap you and that will only make Jakata worry. He might act recklessly."

Phoebe stared down at the ground and nodded, "Do you promise to bring him back?"

"…Yes."

"If you're not back soon I can come find you?"

"If we're not back in twenty minutes ask Jahara to come with," he hesitated, "And tell Ara I took one of her chocolate bars."

Phoebe nodded and went back to the airship, stopping to look back often.

Rai turned to Luka, "Even if that's a lie you're a dead man."

"I can't let Phoebe come. If they killed Jakata…"

"If they did, or do, what are you going to tell her?"

"…I don't know…"

"You could tell her that they took him with them," Tori said, "That will give us some time to figure out how to bring him back. Or that Jakata went after them to get the rest of the Chil-heng and told us to find the rest," he smiled widely.

"We need him to find them," Rai said, "We're getting him out alive."

Finn glanced at him, frowning softly.

Ryong went ahead, pausing frequently and continuing. Griffin glanced around, jumping when there were sudden noises. Sora set a hand on his shoulder, "You can go back if you want."

"I should be here."

"Griffin…"

They came to a room that split into multiple hallways. Griffin pointed to one at the far right, "They took him that way."

"How can you tell?" Rai asked.

"The footprints are fresher."

They stared at the dust-covered floor where multiple sets of footprints went all over. How Griffin could tell which ones were newer….

Baekho tensed and began hissing. Two Rogues came from the hallways, cards and Activators ready.

Luka turned to the others, "Go." They nodded and ran, the only two that stayed were Rai and Ryong.

"Let them," one of the Rogues said. He activated Ice.

Rai activated Fire, having it form a protective wall of fire. The other Rogue activated Water, extinguishing the flames. Ryong activated Shield in front of them, spreading the on-coming attack out.

Luka frowned. This wasn't good. A Dragonoid and a Tigeroid working together could stop them, especially with the Ice and Water combination…. A blast of water knocked him against the wall and a layer of ice froze his arm against it.

The combination came again, this time Water first. Shield withstood the first attack, but froze and shattered at the start of the next Ice attack.

The water around them, specifically around their feet, froze.

One of the Rogues held an Arrow card, "Fire will take too long to melt the ice."

Rai put the card away and held up his hands, "You should worry about the others."

The Rogue turned to the other, "Go."

Ryong activated another card and a hole appeared underneath the Rogues' feet, causing them to fall into it. Ice disappeared.

"That works, too," Rai said.

Ryong took a step towards where the others had gone when a glowing arrowhead passed him, pinning his shirt to the wall.

Rai gaped at Luka, "He just helped us."

Luka ignored him, his eyes narrow, "You're a Hybrid, aren't you? Pit is a Dragonoid Tai Chi."

"Half. My father was a Hybrid," Ryong said, "My mother was a human."

* * *

Agonized screams echoed down the halls, each reverberation making them more and more painful to hear. They belonged to Jakata….

"Finn! Slow down!" Sora shouted, running to keep up with him. _How could someone with legs shorter than hers be so fast?!_

"Finn, we should wait for the others!" Sena said.

Finn slowed to a walk, stepping aside as Sora ran past. Sora was unable to stop that fast, tripped and fell over. Griffin helped her up.

"I'm okay," Sora said, letting go of his hand. She wobbled and leaned back against Griffin. She looked up as the others found them, "That must have been an easy fight."

Luka turned to Rai, giving him a warning glare. He winced and supported his arm.

Further down the hallway was the entrance to a barely lit room, and where Jakata's screaming was coming from. A Rogue stood a short distance away before it, watching them. Sora froze and backed away a few steps, even though there was a good amount of space between them.

Luka set a hand on his sword.

The Rogue watched them for a moment and stepped aside, gesturing for them to go on. Sora pressed herself against the wall as she passed. When they all passed Rai matched Sora's pace, "He never attacked us, so why are you scared of him?"

" I don't know…" Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew. She looked back. The Rogue's dragon was out, lying across his shoulders. The patch of light he stood in barely showed his face, just enough for his jaw to be seen. It was the same one Sora had recognized the twins had….

* * *

 _It hurt…_ It felt as if something was being forcibly torn from him. He didn't know if it was just his own screaming or if something's silent scream was blaring through his head. He struggled against the restraints, even if it hurt even more. Images flashed though his mind of the others, most of them attacking him and… four others he didn't recognize but felt as though they were his brothers and sisters, feeling as if they were all dead and he was the only one left. _Why?_

The pain abruptly stopped and he fell the floor, unable to get up.

"Capture him before he can escape!"

Two Water Tai Chi attacks twisting into one blocked the Rogues from getting near him. One of the Rogues activated Fire. Griffin activated Opposite, turning the fireball into a burst of water that fell to the floor, "Sora, activate Cause and Fire!"

"I don't have them!"

"What?!" he turned to her, distracted long enough to get hit by Lightning. The attack threw him against the wall.

Sora ran to him "Griffin!"

"You fool!" one of the Rogues shouted at the other, "We weren't ordered to attack them! Do you want to kill us all?!"

"We have to leave, now!" One of the other Rogues shouted, running ahead. They all disappeared through the use of a Move card.

Rai looked around, disappointed, "…But I wanted to fight…"

Luka went to Jakata, offering a hand to help him up. Jakata jumped and knocked his hand away, backing away, "Don't touch me!" He glanced around wildly, panicking even more with everyone's presence.

Luka watched. _Not now…_ He turned to Tori, "Use your Sleep card on him."

Jakata struggled to stay awake, desperation in his eyes. He made a feeble attempt to crawl across the floor before the Tai Chi took full effect.

* * *

They all sat around the table, waiting for Miya to finish checking Jakata.

Phoebe looked up at Luka, worried, "Is he okay?"

Luka shrugged, "He might be in shock."

Rai turned to him, "If he doesn't get over it we won't be able to find the Chil-heng—" Luka's glare made him smile widely, "We can wait until he feels better."

"He reacted violently when we got near him," Luka said, "If Tori hadn't used Sleep on him he would have lost control."

"You can't blame him," Jahara said, "He only acted out of fear." Luka glanced at her. "We should only worry if it gets worse."

"Can I go check on him?" Phoebe asked.

Ryong shook his head, "It would be best if only one person is with him at a time. He's easily stressed right now and we could unintentionally overstimulate him."

Miya came back a few minutes .

Phoebe looked over, "Is he going to be okay?"

"After some rest," Miya started checking Luka's arm.

Phoebe exhaled slowly and left.

Luka turned to Ryong, "He won't hurt her because of what happened?"

"That's very unlikely. Dolls rarely, if ever, act against those they've bonded with. It's better if she is with him. Dolls are greatly comforted by the presence of those they've bonded with and will even go to them for it."

"Wow," Miya said, "The ice must have been strong to leave burns. They'll heal in a few days if you leave them alone. Can you feel your fingers and or numbness? That's good."

"Miya?" Sora looked up, "Is Griffin okay?"

She nodded, "He has a few bruises and a headache. He'll be fine by tonight."

* * *

"Jakata?" Phoebe softly knocked on the door. "Are you all right?" She waited for a moment, "If you want to talk let me know." She slowly took a few steps back.

" _Phoebe?"_ His voice was so quiet.

Phoebe went inside. Jakata was curled up on his bed, huddled under his blanket with only his face showing. Phoebe sat down on the edge of the bed, "Are you all right?" she asked again.

He looked away from her, "Why did everyone want to hurt me?"

"What?"

"You're the only one that didn't want to..." he looked back at her, "You only ever did because I did something to upset you."

 _What was he talking about?_ "Did this happen just now?"

"They hurt the others, too."  
Did he get some of his memories back? The "others" were… "Eight years ago you and the others fought everyone else. You were their enemy back then because you worked for Diga. That was before they knew you're a Doll."

"But…"

"They fought you because you did something to upset them, too. You also wanted to fight those that were strong to see if you could defeat them."

"Are they still upset?"

She shook her head. "Not anymore."

"…Why did the others die?"

* * *

"He'll recover in a few days at the least. At the most it would take up to a month," Miya looked concerned despite her tone, "If it does last that long than it's likely what happened caused PTSD."

Luka and Jahara cringed. They knew what that could turn into, having been around another warrior for almost two years during the war.

"How bad would it get?" Jahara asked.

"Anywhere from mild to where he would need a lot of therapy, but I doubt it will get that bad. He didn't seem to mind when I was treating his injuries. I would be worried if he panicked when anyone got near him."

"We knew someone that was that bad," Jahara said, "His panic and anxiety attacks got so bad he couldn't recognize anyone around him."

Phoebe came back, "He got some of his memories back… the painful ones," she was holding a plate of cookies and looked at Luka, "Is it okay if I sleep in the other bed tonight?"

"I'll think about it."

Phoebe nodded and left.

Jahara turned to Luka, "Either agree or give a very logical reason why she can't."

"Jahara—"

"If the same thing happened with Griffin and Sora would have asked, or even the other way around, you would be fine with it."

"I can trust Griffin."

"Jakata has been with her multiple times, according to you they were alone when he kidnapped her, and when she helped him soon after. If anything would have happened it would have been then."

"But back then he didn't—"

"When I was sick from the Hideous Tai Chi you slept in the same room as me."

Ara looked up from her game of Baduk (Go) with Rai, snickering. Luka frowned at her, "Just get back to defeating him."

Rai glared at him, "I can still win."

"Not when she's captured all but one of your stones," he turned Finn and Ryong, "Is it safe for her to?"

"It would be better if I stayed instead," Ryong said, "He's very unpredictable right now."

Finn glanced at him, "He needs Phoebe."

"Dolls lose control a lot easier than we can. He's unstable right now."

Finn stared at him, "He needs Phoebe," his tone wasn't as even as it normally was.

"I'll watch him until he calms down," Ryong said, "If he's better in a few hours it should be safe," he stared down at the table and sighed, "The Rogues want to take him to their base. Because of the traitor they know how we fight," he looked up, "I don't like getting anyone else involved but it might be best to have someone join us."

* * *

"I might not be able to stay," Phoebe said.

"Why not?" Jakata leaned against the headboard, still wrapped in his blanket as he nibbled a cookie.

"I don't know… he never listens to me…"

"He does sometimes."

"Not when it's important."

"Phoebe…" he looked up as Luka softly knocked against the wall.

"It's late," Luka said, "Ryong will stay tonight."

Phoebe looked up at him, "But…"

"You can come back in the morning."

"…Okay…" she turned to Jakata as she left, "…Good night…"

Jakata reached for her as she walked out of sight, "… _Phoebe_ …"

Luka walked with Phoebe down the hall, waiting for her to speak to break the silence, having a very guilty feeling he had caused it. As time went on the silence grew increasingly uncomfortable. They stopped outside of Phoebe's room.

Phoebe looked up at Luka, "Can I stay with him tomorrow, please?"

"If Ryong says Jakata has recovered enough." _But then there wouldn't be any point and Luka would just tell her "no" again!_ "I know you're worried about him."

"You just don't want me to," she said, shaking slightly.

"Phoebe—"

She looked up at him, tears in her eyes, "I'm not a little girl anymore! Sora can do whatever she wants to but you act as if I can't take care of myself!" Tears streamed down her cheeks, "I wish Mom was still alive!"

Luka cringed back. He didn't have time to think of a response before Ryong yelled.

Ryong braced himself against the door. Hissing came from the other side along with the door rattling from the impacts. He glanced up as Luka and Phoebe ran towards him, "He lost control! Get her away from here!"

Luka pulled Phoebe with him until they got to the darkened simulation room.

"Do you have his cards with you?" Ryong's yell could be heard despite the distance. Phoebe nodded and got them out. Luka quickly went through them. Hissing came from the other side of the door now. Luka gave the cards back to Phoebe and closed her hand over them, "Activate Smoke and get as far away as you can. I'll come for you when it's safe."

Phoebe stared at him, oblivious to the ramming against the door, "Don't hurt him…"

"I'm only going to trap him in here," he set a hand on the control panel, "Go!"

As Phoebe activated the card the door broke down. She knew that sometimes when Dragonoids were in Dragonoid state they lost control, but she didn't expect Jakata to look so wild…

She reappeared outside of the airship and ran into the forest, following a riverbed. Luka was never going to let her get near Jakata again! Her foot caught on a tangled tree root and fell, the last thing she heard was a crunch.

* * *

Ryong hissed in pain as Miya applied an antiseptic to the cuts on his face.

"I could use the spray but that would hurt even more," she said. She applied a bandage.

"Did she get away?" he winced when Miya started to splint his hand with Jahara's help.

"She still has the Smoke Tai Chi if she needs it."

"What are we going to do about Jakata?" Rai asked, arms folded on the table, his chin resting on them. _He had missed a fight…_

Ara turned to him, "He isn't here just to have ab contests with you."

Jahara set her Thread card on the table, "We'll have to find him and have Tori use Sleep on him again."

Griffin stared down at the screen of his Communicator, "He's still moving," he frowned at tapped the side of the device, his face turning pale.

"Griffin?" Sora stepped towards him.

"The signal just disappeared."

* * *

The first thing Phoebe noticed as she woke was a dirt floor around her. Natural dull light came from somewhere. Cracks in her glasses disturbed her vision. She was going to have to get them fixed… again….

Nearby Jakata laid on his side, watching her, still in that wild Dragonoid state. He smiled. Phoebe slowly sat up, watching his every movement as he copied her. _If he was here, then that meant Luka…_ She got her Communicator out. A long and deep crack split the shell and the cover came off as she lifted it. Jakata stared at the object and then at the ground, as if ashamed.

"I can ask Griffin to fix it later," Phoebe said, although she wasn't sure if Jakata understood her. She backed away when Jakata looked back up at her. _Something_ in his eyes made her uneasy. They still held that wild animalistic look and yet at the same time held human intelligence.

In a strange, very animal-like way he scratched behind his ear and sneezed. The sound came through the Communicator, making them both jump; enough for Jakata to fall over. Phoebe went over to him, "Jakata?" she touched his shoulder as he started to get up. Jakata yelped, turned around and bit her arm. He immediately let go and backed away, staring at the ground. He turned and ran off.

If what had just happened didn't shock Phoebe so much she would have found the sight of someone running away on all fours strange. Phoebe turned back to her Communicator and examined it. Luka had once told her Communicators had a small cable inside that could attach to a hidden port in an Activator. She found it and connected the two devices. Static came through the speaker, and as small blip blinked on the Communicator's shaky screen. Phoebe input the SOS code Finn had taught her.

* * *

Everyone watched as Griffin tested each of the Communicators, the whole process taking several hours. "If this doesn't work we can try using the Find Tai Chi," Griffin said, "If Jakata finds her hopefully he'll recognize her."

"He won't hurt her," Finn said.

Everyone else turned to him. All of the Communicators trilled loudly, causing everyone (but Finn) to get startled so badly they nearly fell out of their chairs.

Griffin looked at the Communicator he was holding. "It's an SOS. It's coming from where the signal disappeared."

* * *

The Communicator's screen flickered and went black. Phoebe put the device away. The SOS would be sent out to any Communicator in a five kilometer radius, so hopefully _someone_ should have gotten it. She looked up and backed away as Jakata carefully approached her. He crouched, holding a stone of some kind, looking as if he was really, really sorry. He stretched his arms out, offering the stone to her with his fingertips.

Phoebe took it. It was some kind of amber with a delicate flower preserved inside. Tiny air bubbles rested on the petals, looking like dew. Just holding it helped her feel relaxed. She smiled at Jakata, "Thank you."

Jakata smiled and looked back at a tunnel where a soft light came from. He looked back at Phoebe, then to himself and to the tunnel. He took a step closer to the tunnel and repeated the process.

Phoebe watched him, "I'm supposed to follow you…?"

He nodded.

Maybe it would be okay…

* * *

Ara looked over the digital map of the area Jakata's tracer had disappeared, "Tracking him will be difficult. A trade route cuts through the woods."

"Griffin can track him," Sora said, "By now Jakata would have found Phoebe. We just need to look for Phoebe imprints in the snow."

"Not if she knocked herself out and Jakata had to carry her. She's Phoebe, so that's probably what happened," she traced around part of the map, "Which is why we should look for a cave."

"Why?" Rai asked, "Jakata could just make an igloo or a shelter."

"Because even for all the cookies in the world that… man… can't make a snowman that doesn't fall apart."

* * *

The tunnel led to a cavern. Crystals of various shapes and sizes jutted out all over the walls and ceiling, the colors reminding Phoebe of the different colors of activated Tai Chi cards. An unknown light source lit them. _It was so beautiful…_

It was also much colder, enough for their breaths to turn into little white clouds.

Jakata went and sat in the center of the room, looking around. Phoebe sat next to him and leaned against his shoulder, shivering. Jakata started taking off his jacket, biting his sleeves and struggling to pull his arms out of them. When he finally managed to get out of it he offered it to Phoebe.

"Jakata…"

He held it out more and smiled when Phoebe took it. Phoebe put it on. It was so warm… and a lot softer than she had expected. It was still a little too big for her…

Jakata flopped down next to her and stared up at the ceiling. He looked up at Phoebe, eagerly motioning for her to lay down, too. He held her close as she did and pointed at the ceiling.

The crystals could be seen much clearer. Crystals of the same color, if they were away from each other, looked like constellations in the sky. Phoebe studied the ceiling until she fell asleep.

* * *

Luka stared out at the woods. It had snowed overnight, covering any tracks. It had been over twelve hours since Jakata knocked him out, and by now the Doll would have found Phoebe. He turned back to the others, readjusting his sling again. It didn't help it pulled against his sore shoulder.

"Why can't I have a cookie?" Rai glared at Ara.

"You sound like Jakata," she stuffed a container of cookies into her backpack, "We need them for bribery."

"All of them?"

"Yes."

Luka watched as the two, not surprisingly, got into another argument. He looked back outside, his gaze shifting to Jahara's reflection in the window as she approached him.

"They're going to bring her back," Jahara said, "Miya and Finn are going with them."

"If he hurt her…"  
"I doubt he did," she turned to him, "When you lost control those few times after the war you never hurt me."

"Ryong said when it happens to Dolls it's much worse. They'll even turn on the one that created them."

"Jakata would have turned on her already if that was going to happen."

Luka turned to her, glancing up at the others as they left.

"Besides," Jahara said, "We have more to worry about."

Luka nodded, "We don't know who the traitor is yet. We'll have to ask someone that they wouldn't know that well."

"It can't be my brothers or Sena's family. They would all want to get involved."

"We don't have that many other choices. Barugu retired last year and if we ask Jarvis…"

"With his luck I'm surprised he's still alive."

"If we can't think of anyone in the next few days we'll have to ask your brothers."

Jahara nodded slowly. "If they're not still trying to find the Rogues' base..."

* * *

Phoebe slowly woke, blinking in confusion at the crystal ceiling. _Where…?_ Her face turned bright red as she realized she was still laying next to Jakata. She quickly sat up, staring at him. Jakata watched her, slowly blinking, looking so tired. He sat up, dragging his arm, the one Phoebe had been sleeping on. He struggled to lift it, whining. He tapped it with his other hand, looking as if he didn't understand. He looked back up at Phoebe and pointed at his arm, letting out a concerned squeak.

"We can go back and ask Miya to look at it." _His arm never fell asleep before?_

Jakata frowned. His attention turned to the tunnel, completely focused. Seconds later voices echoed from it, both in the language Phoebe recognized as the one Rai claimed to be his native one. Because both were arguing it was difficult to recognize them.

Jakata hissed softly and moved in front of Phoebe, watching.

"Is it the Rogues?" _If they came for Jakata again…_

The arguing briefly stopped, as the tunnel was lit by the effect of a Tai Chi card activating. A long golden arrow flew out and stuck into the ground, the shaft stuck through three cookies. The arrow dissolved and the cookies fell into a pile. Jakata picked them up, hesitated, and gave two of them to Phoebe.

" _Can't I hold the box?"_

" _No. Finn, don't give him any,"_ Ara slowly walked out of the tunnel, holding up a few more cookies. Her smile vanished, "Finn…"

Jakata hissed and darted forward on all fours, barely making it a few steps before he face-planted into the ground, tripping over his arm. Phoebe helped him sit up as Miya ran over. Jakata looked at Phoebe.

"It's okay now. Let's go back to the airship," Phoebe said, "Can you stay awake until then?"

Jakata weakly smiled, nodding, as he went out of Dragonoid state. He collapsed against her, falling asleep.

* * *

"Keep moving his arm and fingers like this for a while," Miya said, "It should be awake by the time he wakes up."

It had taken close to an hour to get back to the airship and despite accidentally dropping Jakata on the floor (twice) he didn't wake up.

Phoebe nodded and followed Miya's instructions, "How long will he sleep for?"

"Maybe a day or two. He was in Dragonoid state for a long time and he still hasn't completely recovered from what happened."

Luka watched from the doorway. Phoebe had barely spoken to him since she came back, and probably wouldn't for some time, not after…

Jahara walked up to him, "I'll talk to her. I don't think anything happened."

"And if something did?"

"Nine years ago someone far more aggressive and annoying than Jakata tried to even talk to Sora and you weren't this upset over it."

"He wasn't going to hurt her, he knew was it was like to be an older brother."

"So does –did- Jakata. Sora told me about Terra."

Luka twitched, "It wasn't the same."

"Maybe not, but it was enough," Jahara started to enter the room and looked back, "What Phoebe needs right now is a brother, not one trying to be her father."

* * *

It wasn't until a few days later, early in the morning, that Jakata woke. He was alone, although the bed across the room looked like it had been slept in. The door was open, too. It was too early for the others to be awake yet, so that meant he could sneak a few cookies without anyone knowing…. The plan failed when he got to the kitchen. Ryong was looking out the window. He turned, "I wanted to talk to you." Baekho wasn't on his shoulder like usual, instead sleeping in his jacket's hood. He looked around, "But not here."

"What about?"

"You want to know about your team, don't you?"

Jakata nodded and followed him.

Sora stood on the deck, rubbing the sleep form her eyes. She watched as Ryong and Jakata walked away from the airship and towards the woods. That was odd… She activated Cause and Fire together, creating the Tigeroid character for Smoke, and teleported herself to the ground. She followed a safe distance behind, dropping a card here and there so the others could follow. She looked back at the airship. Luka and Jahara would wake up soon and start their early morning training sessions.

They stopped in a clearing. Jakata looked around, puzzled. Ryong turned and activated a Time Tai Chi. Visible energy waves emitted from the card and melted into a dome around them, fading the colors of the world into aged black and white. Sora looked around, her attention transfixed on how snowflakes hung suspended in the air.

Jakata stared at Ryong, confused, "Why are you—"

Ryong activated Lightning, stripes briefly flashing on his skin. The blast sent Jakata crashing into a tree.

Sora looked at her cards. They were the same aged colors as the world… She wouldn't be able to help, again!

Jakata struggled to pick himself up, looking up at Ryong, "Why…?"

"Because my leader no longer as any use for you, unless you're strong," he looked over at Sora, "Stay there. I was asked to retrieve you."

Sora yelped and hid behind a tree stump.

Ryong turned back to Jakata, scales covering his skin as he held another card. The snow beneath his feet turned to sand and began to swirl, expanding into a circle around him. The character for Pit appeared, sending him into a hole just as he switched to activate his Time card and disappeared. As he escaped the dome disappeared, allowing the world's color to change back to normal.

Jakata looked up as the one that saved him offered a hand to help him up, recognizing the white dragon on his shoulder. Sora backed away, screaming.

Luka ran over, "Sora—" he froze. _It couldn't be…_

Jahara ran up, stopping just behind him, eyes wide, _"Ave?!"_

* * *

 **Note: I had to find a Korean character for Barugu's name and it looked like Bareugeu, so I don't know how accurate it is. Barugu is the (canon?) Captain of the Royal Guard. When I put the name in Google Translate it came out as Warg.**

 **I'm also not sure about Jarvis's name. It translated as Jareseu, but in the Cantonese dub it sounds kind of like Jarvis. Jarvis is the guy that first appeared in the obstacle course/race episode (28) and appeared throughout the rest of season three.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Plasma57: We were talking back and forth under a single ongoing PM and it was more like she sent me a message ten - fifteen+ times in a row. Because there are no singular cards, actually. Some characters have a copy of the card, such as how Phoebe has a Water card, Elder Sid had an Ice card, and how Garnia and Rai have Explosion. In episode 23 there were at least four nameless warriors who had the Wall Tai Chi.**

 **Human is officially over 50,000 words now! This is the longest story I've written so far.**

 **This chapter (and for most/all of the chapters after this) will have Lord of the Rings references.**

 **And you will notice that Ave will drastically be out of character, but because he grew up a lot happier...**

 **Note: If you have not watched Disney's Frozen yet there this chapter does contain a spoiler or two.**

 **Also note: There will be a little bit of a more or less slightly disturbing skill reference.**

* * *

Almost everyone sat around the table, most stunned into silence by the news of Ryong's betrayal and Ave's presence, barely commenting when Sora told them what happened.

Phoebe turned to Ave, "Thank you for saving Jakata." He nodded.

Sora frowned at her, "He's on the Rogues' side. Wait…" she turned to him, "You're the one that never attacked us." She wasn't sure what was so off about him. She remembered him having a sadistic expression, and now it so much gentler, and he was so much more relaxed than he used to be.

Ave nodded, "A while ago Roman asked me to spy on them for some time." It was difficult to identity his accent. It was already strange and randomly changed for an instant every few words, each time being different. At some point his dragon had disappeared into the cloak he still wore.

Jahara sighed. Of course Roman would be involved and had "forgotten" to tell her…. She looked up, "You were with them when they first attacked, weren't you?"

"He captured one of their members and found out about the plan. He said we knew each other, but I didn't know what he meant."

Rai looked up, "You don't remember us?"  
Ave blinked a few times, "…We did meet at some point before?"

"During the war we were enemies. The last time we fought you the Time Tai Chi converged."

He stared at Rai blankly, "I was in the war?"

Sora nodded, "You were un-aged when Time converged. I'm the one that got you your ball back and you gave me a hug and a picture in return." Everyone turned to her. She glared at Luka, "You thought it was funny."

Luka turned away from her, trying not to smile, "You said 'you would never let him hug you'."

"Why?" Ave asked.

"You can be really scary when you want to," she hesitated, "At least you were back then…"

He leaned back in his chair, "That does explain why I usually can never remember my age…"

"Exactly how did you get here, anyway? Portals aren't exactly common on Earth."

"My parents are friends with some of the Tigeroids that live on Earth, and they have access to one..."

Brave and Yuna ran into the room, chasing each other, completely oblivious. Yuna didn't turn fast enough and bumped into Ave. Ave jumped, went stiff, tipping over in his chair. He shook slightly and his breathing heightened. Luka and Jahara glanced at each other. _It was worse…_

Miya crouched next to him, moving slowly, offering to help him up, "Are you okay?"

"Miya!" Jahara took a step forward. _If the panic attacks were anything like they used to be…_ She watched as Miya helped Ave up and pick up the chair. _That was strange…_

"Is it okay if I try something with your hand?" Miya asked. Ave nodded. Miya held his hand palm-up. "I'm going to press the center of your palm. Let me know if it hurts," she pressed her thumb against his palm, massaging in tiny circles, "Can you close your hand?" He did what she asked as she continued, slowly relaxing.

"So…" Rai said, "How long have you been working with the Rogues?"

"About two months, possibly three."

"A few came here," Donha said, "They were Dolls."

Ave nodded, "Most of them are. Their leader keeps very few real Tigeroids and Dragonoids around to help control them, possibly only one Tigeroid. But if a Doll does anger him he will remotely revert it." Finn cringed. "It doesn't matter to him how many die when he can just create as many as he needs. I think he might be trying to get one that has more human traits or…" his voice trailed off, "He could even be trying to revive someone."

"But that's against our laws…" Jahara said.

The door creaked open and Ara walked in. She stared at Ave for a few seconds and glared at him, "Let me at him."

Luka restrained her, struggling to hold her still, "Ara—"

"He almost stole my chocolate!" She turned, glaring at him with venom, her voice becoming deathly, _"Let me go."_ She jumped back when a white dragon flew at her, hissing.

"Eowyn," Ave said, and then spoke in a few strange words. The dragon gave Ara a hard stare and returned to Ave, laying across his shoulders. Everyone stared at him.

"Eowyn…?" Ara stopped struggling. "If she were a he would you have named her after Legolas?"  
Ave looked away, "Well…" At the same time the dragon sighed happily.

"You named her?" Rai asked.

"I've had her since she hatched."

Rai turned to Ara, "How did you know she's not from here?"

"Hak and Duran would have recognized her."

"Are Eowyn and Legolas from the story with the wardrobe that sends you to another world?"

"No," she looked up at Luka, "You can let go now. I'll behave."

"…If I give you chocolate?"

"Because you're offering…."

Luka sighed and let go.

Eowyn lifted her head and looked at Ave, "She sounds worse than you."

Rai turned to Ave, "You are or were a higher-ranked member of the Rogues, right? Do you know about my mom? The princess?"

"Laura? Her Activator and cards where taken away, but she's fine. Everyone fears her more than the leader."

Ara paused halfway through opening a chocolate bar wrapper, "You don't know the leader's name?"

"Laura and the other prisoner are the only ones that do. From what I heard they knew him before the last war started."

Eowyn lifted her head, "He used to be a member of the Royal Guard, at least until he kidnapped and caused the death of an important Tigeroid."

Ara turned to Luka, staring at him thoughtfully, "He sounds like you. If you decide to go back to the past with a Time Tai Chi…."

Luka ignored her and turned to Ave, "Do you know where their base is?"

"It's an old castle that's falling into ruins. It will take half a week to a week and a half to get there."

"Are you going back so they don't get suspicious?"

He shook his head, "I'm going to have to stay here. They would know by now. Tetsu is one of their members, and he very likely already told them."

Rai frowned, "Who's that?"

"…He used a fake name again, didn't he?" Ave sighed, "He's also known as Drake, Len, Kai, and Rio, among many others. Bae is sometimes called Byakko."

Eowyn lifted her head, "Or Koko."

"Do you think Ryong will come back for Jakata?" Phoebe asked.

"He has the Time Tai Chi, so I don't know if he will."

"I have one, too," Rai said, bringing the card out. "I can use it to cancel out his."

"Unless you're taking a nap," Ara said.

"I will not." It turned into argument from there.

Jahara turned to Ave, "They argue a lot. This is one of the tamer ones." Behind her Rai and Ara were pulling on each other's faces. "The quietest room is Jakata's, if you wouldn't mind being his roommate."

"That's fine. I share my room with my little brother and sister."

Sora turned to him, "Really?"

He nodded, "My family travels a lot. So we don't stay in one place for very long and have to share rooms."

She looked away, "How many brothers and sisters do you have?"

"One older brother, two older sisters, a younger sister, a younger brother, and a brother and sister that are twins. Except for the twins we're all adopted."

Sora glanced at him. _It was almost the same as it was before…_

* * *

Ara stared at Rai blankly, "Really? Even Jakata understands this."

"But how can she freeze everything without an Ice card? And why is she so mean? Kai never did anything to her."

Ara sighed, "This was written long before we even know Earth existed and there are multiple versions of the story. Some of them are movies."

"I never watched any of them."

"Completely. You were begging me to turn it off when you thought Olaf died."

"He doesn't melt?!"

"…I said it was going to be okay…."

"Can we watch it when we don't have to worry about the Chil-heng anymore?"

"If you promise to watch the whole movie and we don't have this stupid argument again."

"It can't get any more stupid than this."

Voices echoed down the hallway.

" _You cheated!"_

" _How can you cheat without doing anything?"_

" _I don't know but you cheated! Rematch!"_ A few seconds later there was a loud clap.

" _Finn, he cheated!"_

Ara stared in that direction, "It just got stupider."

Rai got up, "They need a new contest." He walked down the hall. _"Contest!"_

Ara face-palmed. Rai came back, pouting, arms folded. He sat down heavily.

"Did Jakata defeat you again?"

"Jakata lost, too."

"….You lost to _Ave?_ "

Rai looked up at her, "High-heels contest."

" _No."_

"But why?"

"That would mean I would be forced to see your feet. I don't need to see that."

"How come?"

"Because you have Hobbit feet."

Rai frowned, " _You_ have Hobbit feet."

Ara stared at him dryly, "You don't even know what that means, do you?"

"Of course I do. What's a Hobbit?"

"Will you remember if I tell you?"

"Probably not. But what's wrong with Hobbit feet?"

"Nothing really, unless they're yours."

"What makes you think _I_ have Hobbit feet?"

"Are they hairy?"

Rai didn't respond for a long time, glancing in every direction but Ara's.

* * *

"Luka?" Griffin stood outside of the door, watching as Luka sat on the floor with Brave, helping build a block tower. "Can I talk to you or is this a bad time?" Ever since Jakata got back and woke up a few hours ago after having slept throughout the day before, Luka had been slightly agitated. He seemed a lot more relaxed now, at least…

Luka didn't look up, "It isn't." He stopped the tower from falling over.

"As you know, your sister is very beautiful and kind, and the man she marries is going to be very, very lucky because he doesn't deserve her."

"And she isn't going to."

Griffin's face fell. "Oh, really?"

"He's too irresponsible."

Griffin nodded, "Y-yeah, I guess you're right…" he backed away and walked down the hall.

Luka didn't notice, "Until Jakata can—"

"Luka, who are you talking to?" Jahara watched him and came over.

"Griffin," he looked over at the doorway, "He was just here."

"He looked upset," Jahara gave one of the blocks to Brave, "I thought you liked him."

"I trust him more than Jakata. Jakata probably asked him—"

"What? No," Jahara looked up, "Sena told me about it. Griffin wanted to ask you if he could marry Sora."

Luka's face deadpanned, "Oh…" he looked up, "Not a word of this to Sora."

"I can explain to Griffin you misunderstood, but it will still take him a while to get enough courage to ask again."

* * *

Sora watched as Miya checked the medical supplies, "You're not scared of Ave?"

"Why should I be?"

"Do you remember when everyone was competing with your sisters during the war? Ave is the one that tried attacking you with Whip."

"He didn't know I'm a Dragonoid. He's different now," she picked up two jars of dried herbs.

Sora just stared at her and looked up as Luka and Jahara came in, "She's siding with Ave."

Jahara gave her a notepad and a pencil, "Ara and Rai are playing Baduk again and—" Sora rushed out of the room. Jahara turned to Luka, "She doesn't react that way when they play Ping-Pong."

"You've seen how violent they can get."

Miya showed the herbs to Jahara, "These help with anxiety. They taste better as a tea."

"That's what we wanted to talk to you about," Jahara said, "Ave has already tried everything and nothing worked."

"When the war started Ave's family was murdered by Dragonoids," Luka said, "We think during that time he was grabbed from behind and managed to escape. Since then he's had PTSD and it looks like it's gotten worse. If he ever got hit from behind before it would only stun him for a few seconds."

"He can't recognize anyone during his attacks and reacts violently when they get near him, or at least he used to," Jahara said. "He used to in general react worse towards other males, so he must be a little better if he was able to help Jakata."

"He might relapse," Luka said, "So just be careful if he has more attacks." He still had a few scars from accidently getting to close during the attacks.

"Can I still help him?" Miya asked.

"Only if he wants you to," Jahara said.

"Can I still show him the herbs?"

"You can, but don't be disappointed if he doesn't want to try them."

As they walked out of the room Jakata wandered past, looking confused, "There's another one around here, but…" he turned around a few times, "It's always nearby where ever I go."

Luka walked ahead, "When you know where it is we'll look for it."

Jakata turned to Jahara, "But it's _here_ …"

* * *

Ave set a book on the table, "I found this before I left."

"You stole it," Ara said.

"I borrowed it without asking," he opened it, "It's in the leader's handwriting, so it should be about his plans. But it's from years ago, so…"

Everyone else stared at it and turned to Ara.

"I grew up here on Suhn and I was raised by Dragonoids."

Everyone else turned to Rai.

"It's one of the languages from Earth," Rai said, frowning, "I doubt even a few Tigeroids and Dragonoids would know it, even if they lived on Earth for a long time."

Miya turned to Ave, "Can any of the Rogues read this?"

Ave didn't answer at first, turning pages, barely glancing at them. He stopped on one page, "I must have turned two pages at once… That one wasn't there before…" he closed the book and looked up, "The leader is searching for the Chil-heng and is studying how Dolls behave. There is a lot of information and records on them. They're from ten years ago, so I don't know how current they are."

Sora looked between him and the book, "You can read now, and you can read _that?_ "

"His brothers and sisters all speak different languages, so he learned them to speak with them," Eowyn said, "He even taught himself how to read Latin."

" _That's_ going to get you a girlfriend," Ara said.

"I've had a few," Ave said, "They never stayed more than a few weeks. I think it's because of my panic attacks."

"Except for Ashley," Eowyn said, "What led to her leaving is all of your weird 'skills'."

"They're not weird. They're useful."

"And what are these 'useful skills'?" Ara asked.

"I can bend all of my fingers independently."

Rai smiled smugly, "I can to _that."_ He frowned as his ring finger and little finger bent at the same time.

Sora turned to Ave, "Do you still keep stuff in your sleeves?"

"Yeah."

"How does everything stay up your sleeves?"

Ave stared up at the ceiling, "I never thought about that. I don't know."

"His sleeves are like Hermione Granger's purse," Eowyn said. She continued to disappear and reappear in and out of the sleeves, bringing out one item at a time, "Activator, compass, a few Tai Chi cards, pocket watch, handheld game system, a few more cards, a pen that ran out of ink, a deck of trading cards, the rest of his Tai Chi cards, and his smartphone."

Ara frowned and took out her smartphone, "…Wow, full connection in a world that doesn't even have telegraphs." She looked up, "Any other special skills we should know about?"

"I'm good with accents."

"Did you spend time in Osaka and Kiyoto?"

"And Tokyo and Shibuya."

Ara nodded, "You can't control when an accent slips out."

"It takes about a week or two to learn it and they never leave, so… no."

Ara looked at Rai and then back at Ave, "Baka."

"(Really?)"

"Hai," She sighed when Rai puffed out his chest.

Rai turned to everyone, "She just said I'm attractive."

Ave stared, "(He doesn't even notice baka is close to babo?)"

Rai nodded, smiling, "That's right," he turned to the others, "He's confirming she means that if anyone who doesn't think I'm attractive is an idiot."

Ara face-palmed.

* * *

"So it's basically just a double-layer dome, right?" Rai asked.

Sora nodded. She, Rai, Luka, Jakata and Ara stood in the training room.

"Are we sure this is safe?" Ara asked, "He's never activated Time before, and you know what happened when he activated Chaos," she glared at him, "Twice."

Rai looked away, "I thought I had more control over it."

"If you send us to another time I'm going to take all your cards and leave you behind."

"Not if I come back first."

"I will find you if you do."

Rai turned to Luka, "She's threatening me."

"Just be careful.

Rai activated the card. The colors around them became an aged gray. Rai looked around and then at the analog clock on the wall, "It was like this?"

Jakata and Sora nodded. Luka frowned, "If he's powerful enough to do this…"

"It isn't affecting us," Sora said.

"That's not what I'm worried about. Ryong stopped _our_ time. That's why if felt like only a few seconds between when we followed you and heard you scream."

Ara turned to Jakata, "I don't know if it's a good or bad thing Ave happened to be close enough to—"

The door opened.

"What happened?"

They all stared at Ave, wide-eyed.

"What?"

"How are you moving freely?" Sora asked.

"Am I not supposed to?" He looked back, "Everything stopped."

Ara took the Time Tai Chi away from Rai and turned to Ave, "Recite anything in any language you want," she activated the card, "…Darn, he's still talking." She frowned, recognizing the language, "Wait…"

* * *

"Are you still sensing it?" Jahara asked, watching as Jakata warily poked at an egg slowly cooking in a pan.

"I don't know why. It's been the same."

"And it's been a few days since you first sensed it."

Jakata turned to her, "Maybe something happened to me when…"

"I don't think Switch has that affect. You might just be tired."

Jakata shrugged and went back to watching the egg fry, rubbing his wrists just above the metal cuffs.

"I can try using Break again," Jahara said, "Or we could ask Ave if he still has his Grow card."

"Tori already tried using Open and it didn't do anything…" his voice trailed off as he frowned, looking around, "That's weird."

* * *

"I'm going to test your skills," Rai said, walking back and forth across the deck, holding his boomerang, "The wind conditions make this much, much more difficult, so don't feel bad if it hits you, okay?"

Ara sat on a barrel and sighed. She looked who at Ave, who was tying a blindfold on, "You may be my book discussion buddy and speak Sindarin, but I still don't like you. Just don't get hit. I don't need his ego to inflate."

Rai frowned at her, "Just because you couldn't do it…"

"I don't trust you enough to throw it at me."

Rai stuck his tongue out at her and turned back, "Ready? Here it comes!" He threw the boomerang.

As it came Ave jumped, back-flipping over it and ducked as it came back.

Rai gasped, oblivious to the boomerang coming very close to hitting his leg.

Ave untied the blindfold, "Was that a little too much?"

Rai turned to Ara, "Did you see that? He wearing _normal_ clothes."

Ara nodded, wide-eyed, "And _shoes_."

Rai gasped again and glared. "I saw them first."

"Did not."

Eowyn poked her head out of Ave's sleeve, "We should go back in before they stop arguing and make you do other things. They're only going to argue about everything else now…"

Ave nodded and went back inside.

Rai picked up the boomerang, "It's defective. I can't back-flip over it."

"It isn't the boomerang."

"Yes it is. Roman is supposed to get me a new one," Rai walked over to the end of the deck, "It will never come back." He threw it as hard as he could, watching until it disappeared out of sight and nodded, smirking, "It's gone, so now he'll get me a perfect one." He walked back inside, making it only just inside the doorway as the boomerang came back.

* * *

Sora watched from what she judged as a safe distance as Ave wrote with his left hand, the writing very illegible, "You're learning how to be ambidextrous?"

He looked up, "Actually—"

There was a loud _bang!_ and the airship shuddered violently. They found the others out on the deck.

"What did we hit?" Sora asked, looking over the guardrail at the clouds.

Luka pulled her out of the way of a lightning bolt, "We're being attacked."

"Then why aren't Duran and Hak parking this thing?!"

"We'll be an easier target."

Ave pulled Miya out of the way of a blast of energy that went past, "It's Tetsu… Ryong," he looked over at the others, "We need to land before he makes us." Eowyn darted back into the airship.

Sora peeked over the guardrail at then at him, "Won't we be safer up here?"

"Unless he decides to use Destruction, Explosion or Break." The airship began to descend, "Some of us need to stay here until we know what he wants. He might have brought the four Rogues that always listen to him. If he did it would be to get the Chil-heng and the book I borrowed."

"Stole," Ara said.

"Why is it so important?" Sora asked.

"Because of its information. For some reason the Chil-heng and Dolls are connected even though the first one that was given life was created long after the Chil-heng were. The leader has been looking for a certain one for over twenty years now, even though Dolls don't live that long."

Luka turned to him. _Twenty years ago was when…_ _He couldn't mean…_ "Phoebe, Sora, I need you to stay here."

"I want to come."

"Why did you say Phoebe's name first?"

"It will be safer here," Luka followed everyone else back inside.

Sora glared at him, "Give me a good reason why you said Phoebe's name first."

Phoebe stopped, "It is because you don't want me to be near Jakata?"

Luka turned to her, "Phoebe…" he hesitated, "You can come if you'll come back if gets dangerous."

Phoebe nodded.

Sora stepped in front of Luka, "Stop ignoring me. Why did you say Phoebe's name first?"

Luka walked around her, discussing with the others who would stay. Sora glared at him, "Is it because Phoebe is older?"

Luka didn't turn to look at her, "Yes."

* * *

Ryong watched as they approached, keeping a hand on Baekho to keep the bigger form of the Hybrid calm. Baekho couldn't get nearly the size of the true form of his pure-bred relatives, only being able to get big enough for maybe two riders, but he didn't lack the speed or strength.

Baekho turned his head to him, "Baekho sees only six. Luka, Jahara, Jakata, Phoebe, Miya and Ave."

"He's going to make this difficult," in his other hand he held two cards, "He's going to have to be one of the targets."

"But you've only ever done two before…"

"It doesn't matter. He's unaffected by the Time Tai Chi," he sighed, "This would be easier if Sora was with them."

"Torah can get her himself," Baekho walked next to Ryong, "He knows where she is. Sort of."

"Rita didn't see her when she tried to retrieve the Hwagoyu."

"If you would have sent Yami—"

Ryong shook his head, "Not with his temper. He would have killed Jakata."

"Why the other three chose him as their new leader…" he straightened as they stopped meters away from the others.

"We're not going to give you the Chil-heng," Luka said.

"I'm not here for them. I'm continuing what I started," he glanced at Ave, "You won't be able to protect her this time." He activated one of the Tai Chi cards he held. The character was an eerie purple-gray.

Three smaller versions of the character flew from it, one hitting Luka, and the other hitting Phoebe. Miya pushed Ave out of the way, getting hit by the third. They collapsed. Ryong frowned and activated Time, having those that were hit disappeared first, slowly disappearing himself. "There's an abandoned warehouse north of here. I'll be waiting."

* * *

"Why do you want to be weirder than Ave?" Ara asked, staring at Rai.

"There's only one thing that can top independent fingers," Rai smiled proudly, setting a glass of milk on the table. "Drink milk with your nose and squirt it out of your eye."

"Do it and I will hurt you."

"You won't because you love me."

"Enough to hurt you," she narrowed her eyes when Rai reached for the glass, "Rai… the milk is expired."

Rai looked at the milk and sniffed it, "It's fine." His Communicator trilled. He barely answered it when Jahara and Jakata's shouting came from it. Ara took it and quickly spoke in a language Rai didn't recognize. There was a pause and Ave responded in the same language.

Ara closed the device, walking away. "Ryong used a Forbidden Tai Chi on Luka, Phoebe, and Miya and took them to a warehouse. We're supposed to go on the deck so Eowyn can take us along."

Rai followed her, "It wasn't the Hideous Tai Chi, was it?"

"If it was he would have been panicking, too," she turned to Rai, "I drew it to see if he remembered it. He fell out of his chair."

Rai looked back as they climbed the stairs, "Shouldn't we tell the others? Like Finn and Sena? Maybe Sora?"

"Finn and Sena need to stay here to help Griffin keep Sora under control when she finds out."

Rai frowned, "She isn't going to."

"Most Forbidden Tai Chi affect one's mental state. Luka still has his Link Tai Chi. Sora is trying to find hers where I did it." Somewhere further away Sora screamed. Ara grabbed Rai's wrist and pulled him with her and closed the door behind them. "How angry is she going to be when no one will kill Itsy Bitsy?"

"Whose Itsy Bitsy?"

"The big black furry spider with glowing red eyes. She lives with her many children under your bed."

Rai squeaked.

* * *

Eowyn, in her larger form, landed on the deck, leaving her tail hanging over the guardrail. She and Ave were speaking to each other in the foreign language. Eowyn narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head, making him fall off. She hissed a few words at him as he climbed back on.

Ara climbed on and sat in front of Jahara. "We'll save him. He owes me chocolate."

Jahara smiled weakly.

Rai climbed on, twisting around to smirk at Ara, "I'm in front of you."

"I'm not the one sitting directly behind Ave."

Rai took immense interest at the ground below as Eowyn flew. "Is there going to be enough room for everyone?"

Eowyn turned her head, "I can carry up to twelve and luggage."

"Oh."

"What card did Ryong use?" Ara asked, "It must have been bad if Jakata hasn't said anything for the past ten minutes."

"The Control Tai Chi," Ave said, "It allows you to completely control someone," he looked back, "It puts a lot of strain on both the user and the target. I don't know how Ryong managed to use it on even two others."

"Does it have any negative affects?" Jahara asked.

"I think the worse it would be is passing out and waking up with a really bad headache. It's one of the tamer of the Forbidden Tai Chi because it doesn't eventually kill."

Ara narrowed her eyes, "How do you know all of this?"

"I… really don't know."

Jakata sat up straighter, "Chil-heng."

Jahara turned to him, "The same one you sensed before?"

"That one is still there. That one is that way," he pointed ahead.

Ara stared at him, "What are you talking about now, crazy man?"

"There's one here and there's one over there."

Rai glanced at him, "You didn't bring the evil mood ring, did you?"

"The one that's here is following me."

Eowyn landed in front of an old building wearing away from weather and age. She waited until everyone got off, returned to her smaller form, and laid across Ave's shoulders.

"We should split into groups," Rai said, "I'll go in with Jahara, and Ara you can—"

"We have to stay together," Ave said, "Ryong can easily overpower us."

"I've sparred with him. He isn't that tough."

"He's a human-Hybrid… Hybrid. That makes him more powerful," he walked towards the open side of the building into a wide, very dark room, "He could have ended the war eight years ago," he walked slowly, almost carefully, as Eowyn clicked her tongue every few seconds.

Rai walked just behind him, "Why didn't he? He would have been nine, like Tori."

Ave shook his head. "Because if he would have ended it that would mean he would have never been born."

Ara stared at him, "Okay I take back what I was to Jakata. What are _you_ talking about now, crazy man?"

"Well, you see…"

"Is this going to be confusing?"

"A little bit. Hybrids still aren't accepted and being half-human only makes it worse. Human-Hybrids will always be against our laws. And that's only if one parent is a pure Tigeroid or Dragonoid."

"You didn't answer my question."

Rai frowned, "Why would he tell us what he is?"

Ave shrugged, "Maybe because you would accept it more or for some other motive."

"Are the Human-Hybrids like regular Hybrids because the animalistic Dragonoid and Tigeroid instincts are always conflicting?" Jahara asked.

Ave nodded, "Only worse. Humans were never meant to be able to control them. Because of that they're highly— get down!" he dove to the ground, the only one to respond late was Jakata, who got hit by a water blast and was sent flying into a wall.

The room was lit with dim lights, revealing stacks of crates and piles of pipes along the walls. Ryong stood in the back, with Baekho near him. Behind him stood Luka and Phoebe, both very quiet. Baekho turned to Ryong, "Baekho doesn't see or smell Sora."

Ryong sighed, "Yes, Baekho, I can see she's not here."

"Sora never did anything to you," Rai said, the last one to stand up.

"Baekho and Ryong are hired to find and retrieve Sora," Baekho said.

" _Baekho!"_ Ryong frowned at him.

Jahara took a step forward, "Where's Miya?"

"Bring Sora and I'll deactivate Control."

"Control doesn't last long," Ave said, "By the time we would bring her here it would have long since deactivated, especially because you stretched it to three people."

"Then use Smoke," his Control card glowed and Luka and Phoebe got their Activators out.

Ave glanced at Jahara, lowering his voice, "There's a cage or steel crate hanging from the ceiling. That's probably where Miya is."

"Can you free her with Smoke?"

"If I can get close enough."

"Go," she got her Thread card out.

Ara followed Ave over to a staircase against the wall that led up to a room, letting Rai get hit by a blast of water, ignoring the back and forth battle behind her, "If it's possible I'm going to save her."

Ave turned to her, climbing the stairs, "But…"

"If I save her then Jahara will be happy and Luka will owe me chocolate for _years._ "

"He already owes you chocolate for _years_."

"Yeah, well—" Ara clung to the railing as a stray blast from Destruction tore between her and Ave, effectively destroying much of the stairs.

Ave gripped onto the railing to keep from falling.

"If you fall from that height you'll break your skinny legs."

"Falls from this height can't break your legs."

"No, a fall from that height will break _your_ skinny legs," she didn't even twitch when a fireball hit the wall behind her.

Ave lifted himself up and crouched on the rail. "I won't fall." He stood and ran up the railing. At the end he leaped off to the nearest wall to jump at an angle to where the cage hung, and hit his foot against the top edge in the process.

Ara stared up at where the cage was, "That sounded like a face-plant."

Ave picked himself up, watching what he could see of the fight below. The others were trying to attack Ryong, while Luka and Phoebe were defending him. "Don't focus on the fight!" At the same time he activated Smoke, disappearing along with Miya.

Eowyn went to Ara, "He face-planted."

Jakata sat up, holding his head. That wasn't fun… He looked around. _The new thingy was close_ … He looked over at the fight. Phoebe was still affected by the Tai Chi. _Maybe the thingy would help…_

If he helped her and she got hurt and Ryong got the thingy, she would be sad. If he got the thingy and it helped her and Ryong didn't get it, she would be happy. If he got the thingy and _…_ he was getting confused… where was it?

He couldn't see much in the dim light, though the occasional flash from Rai activating Fire helped a little. Phoebe was fighting Jahara, and Rai was fighting Luka. Ara looked like she was watching the fight and Eowyn was with her. Ryong still stood in the back, wincing sometimes. Baekho looked up at him and said something.

The thingy felt like it was coming from one of the piles of the poles. Jakata walked back and forth in front of them. It had to be on the far left… right… left… that way.

"Jakata!"

Jakata turned to see Luka running at him, sword raised. Jakata yelled and picked up one of the poles, holding it up to defend himself. Silver armor materialized over his arm and across his chest, protecting him when the sword missed the pole.

A small rock hit Luka's shoulder. Rai's face quickly went from confident to panic as Luka went to attack him instead. Jahara stepped in front of Rai. Luka froze, the blank expression he had had slowly being replaced by conflict. Ryong gritted his teeth.

Ara glanced between Luka and Ryong, "Jahara, keep him distracted! Hug him or something!" she picked up a tiny chunk of debris from the destroyed stairs and threw it over by Phoebe. She fled over to Jakata and shoved him in front of her, "She better love you!" Phoebe screeched to halt in front of him.

Baekho nudged Ryong, "Baekho and Ryong have to leave. If Ryong continues to use control…"

Ryong released Control, making those affected collapse. He switched to Time, creating a portal and escaped.

* * *

Ave sat next to Miya's bed, watching her sleep. He looked over as Jakata carried Phoebe in and tucked her in her bed, and sat next to her bed. Eowyn had ridden on Jakata's shoulders and returned to Ave.

"That wasn't fun," Jakata said. He looked over, "How did you get back before we did?"

"Control lost effect after I used Smoke. Did Ryong get away?"

"Yes. He likes to cheat."

"Tela, one of those in his group, accuses him of that, too."

Jakata frowned, "Tela…?" He asked slowly, almost pronouncing it wrong.

"She's the youngest and most hyper of the group. I haven't seen her fight, so I don't know if she's a Tigeroid, Dragonoid or Hybrid. All I know is that Ryong brought her and three others a while ago. One of them really hates you for some reason."

"Ara says I'm obnoxious. Is that why?"

"Maybe," he looked over as Jahara stood in the doorway.

"Can I talk to you?" she asked.

Ave glanced at Miya. Eowyn floated down to hover over Miya.

"I'll tell you if she wakes up."

Ave followed Jahara out to the deck. "Control usually leaves a bad headache and memory loss of what happened. Very rarely it has any other affects."

"Luka and Phoebe fainted after Ryong stopped Control," she folded her arms on the guardrail, "Was it because Control lasted for so long and did Miya faint, too?"

Ave looked away, "W-well…"

She watched him, "Did something awkward happen?"

He twitched, "N-no…"

"She's my only sister," Jahara looked up at the stars, "I have a different relationship with her than Luka does with Phoebe and Sora." Ave glanced at her. "For years I thought she was dead, so I've only known her for about ten years. Sena has known her for even longer."

He looked away, his face turning red, "She woke up during a speech…"

Jahara stared at him for a few seconds, "I won't ask."

* * *

The next morning Phoebe and Miya woke joined the others, who all stood around the table, staring at the pole. Luka was the only one that wasn't there.

Jakata tapped it, "It made armor last night…"

At the end of the pole it had characters engraved into it, the most prominent one was the character for Metal.

"Are you sure?" Ara asked, "You at a lot of cookies yesterday."

Duran lifted one end of the pole, struggling under the weight of it. Armor appeared over his body, making him scream. Hak tapped him, denting the armor.

Jakata picked the pole up and armor appeared over his arm again, "It blocked Luka's sword."

Ave pointed to a few of the characters, "It has to do with will power or spirit."

Ara took it and gave it to Rai. She slapped his arm. "Nope, it doesn't work."

Rai gaped at her. Armor flashed around his arm, startling them both. He dropped the pole, and it clattered loudly to the floor, startling everyone. Ave jumped back into the wall, making him jump again and fall to the floor, breathing faster.

Eowyn spoke softly to him in a foreign language until Miya crouched next to him. Ave looked away, "…Sorry…"

"It's not your fault," Miya said.

"I can't control it…"

"You'll be able to. Others have had it much worse than you and they're recovering."

He smiled weakly and let her help him up.

Luka came in, blinking sleepily, "What was that?"

Ara looked him up and down, "That isn't as important as why I'm guessing you sleep in sweatpants and…" she stared at the loose shirt, "Why is the duckling wearing over-sized sunglasses and a leather jacket around its shoulders like a cape?"

Luka stared down at the caped duckling on his shirt and up at Ara.

"Anyway," Ara walked up to him, "You still owe me chocolate."

"No I—"

Ara held up a can and pressed the nuzzle, spraying thick white foam on Luka's face.

Luka twitched back and wiped the foam off, "What—"

"Bad Luka!" Ara pointed the can at and filled Luka's mouth with the white foam, making him cough until he could speak again.

Luka stared at the can, interested, "What is that?"

"Whipped cream," Ara pointed it at her mouth and filled it with the foam. She gave the can to Luka, smiling smugly as he attempted what she did.

Jahara turned to her, her voice low, "You're planning something…"

Ara shrugged, "If he wants to get more whipped cream or shampoo because you like how soft his hair gets he can trade with chocolate."

* * *

Rai had his cards laid out across his bed, "And when I combine these two together…"

Ave watched, unimpressed. Eowyn had retreated into his sleeve at one point.

Ara passed by the open door and looked in, "What are you doing?"

"Showing Ave my strategies."

"You're not supposed to have your cards in reachable places. Jahara is very strict about it."

"I'm being careful," Rai played with his Explosion card.

"When are you careful?"

" _Always."_ He spun the card with his fingers and it slipped out of his hand. The card spun away and floated out of the door past Ara. Which was when Yuna ran by and picked it up.

" _Yuna!"_ Ria and Ara chased after her, shortly after there was a loud _bang!_ followed by Yuna laughing.

* * *

Rai stared at the ground, his grip on the card firm, "I'm sorry and I'll never do it again."

Jahara sighed, "Just go pick up your cards."

Rai looked up at her, "That's it? You're not going to—"

Ara pulled him away, "Go before she changes her mind."

Jahara turned to Luka, her eyes narrow, "Did you give Yuna your Activator?"

"I was going to watch her."

"Luka."

"…I'm sleeping out on the deck tonight…"

Jahara hesitated, "Just until it gets late."

* * *

Luka sat against a crate, trying to get comfortable. He would be able to go back inside in a few hours… He looked up as the door leading to inside opened. Miya walked out with Ave, who was breathing rapidly. Miya spoke softly to him, leading him over to the guardrail, "It's okay."

Eowyn switched shoulders she stood on to get closer to Miya, "It hasn't been this bad for a while."

Ave straightened, looking around. Something hit the airship with a _bang!_ Luka stood, barely able to see four shapes darting around, very briefly illuminated only when a Tai Chi was activated.

The others ran out, crowding the guardrail.

"Who's attacking us?!" Sora pointed her Water card in all directions.

"Ryong's group," Ave said, "The—"

An attack hit one of the engines, setting it aflame and sending the airship flying towards the ground. Before the airship several Tai Chi briefly flashed, creating a dark rift.

"Run back in!" Ara shouted, but too late.

The airship went into the rift, more of a portal, and spun into darkness before impacting the ground.

* * *

 **Baka is Japanese for stupid/idiot. Babo is the Korean word that has the same meaning. Sindarin is one of the elvish Tolkien languages.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Plasma57: When Jahara said she "only knew her for about ten years"? That was Miya.**

* * *

Luka groaned, wincing as he sat up, holding his head. The airship lay before him, its engines either badly damaged or missing. A gaping hole tore through the engine room, and the windows were shattered. The staircase was down, damaged, and probably wouldn't retract again. He looked around. They had landed in what looked like a cavern, one easily big enough to hold a small village, probably even a few depending on how big it was.

Brave tottered past, swaying back and forth until he sat down. Sena pulled herself up onto a rock, moving her arm carefully. She went over and sat down next to Brave.

She looked up, "Have you seen the others yet?"

"No, but they should be nearby," Luka said. Some of them had to still be on the airship…

Jakata cried out and fell to the ground. He shakily got up, his voice whiney, "I can't find Phoebe."

Sena looked over at him, "Did you even look for her?"

"No."

Ara walked down the staircase, completely uninjured, "The chocolate is safe.

Luka stood up, "Where are the others?"

"Hak and Duran are freaking out, but their families are safe. They're trying to get the communication system to work again."

Sena looked up from her Communicator, "No one is answering."

"Rai is fine," Ara said, unwrapping a chocolate bar, "He wouldn't lose our bet this easily."

"…What bet?" Luka asked.

"That he would die first."

Jakata looked over, "What's the point if only one of you would know when…" his voice trailed off.

Ara shrugged, "His exact words where 'If I die first I don't have to owe you chocolate for the rest of my life'," she turned to Luka, "Sora still has her Link Tai Chi."

Luka didn't respond for a while, "…I can't contact her…."

* * *

Phoebe slowly woke as Finn gently shook her. She couldn't see much, aside from the blurry blob she assumed was Finn leaving. She must have lost her glasses. Again. She felt around for them and instead found Miya's backpack. "Miya?"

"Over here," Miya crawled over and gave Phoebe her glasses.

Phoebe helped her stand up and walk over to sit on a rock, "Are you okay?"

"They just gave out again. I'll be fine in a little while," she smiled, "I can still feel my feet." She looked up as Griffin walked over, carrying Yuna.

"No one else is here?" he asked.

"Finn went somewhere," Phoebe said, getting Miya's backpack. She yelped when something inside it moved.

Eowyn climbed out, looking around. "…This never happened before…"

Griffin set Yuna down and gave her his Communicator. "That portal must have separated us. A crash-landing would have thrown us a short distance away."

"Do you think everyone else is safe?" Miya asked.

"If they're in groups they will be. I'm more worried about who attacked us. We need to find the others before they do."

Eowyn nodded, "Especially Jakata. One of the group really doesn't like him. We don't know why."

Griffin looked at her, "How bad will it be if they find him first?"

"Tela might be the only one that can save him," she hung around Miya's shoulders, "She's the only one that would side with him. Her brother wants to see Jakata dead."

"Do you know his strategies?"

"He isn't very nice. He likes to use force over manipulation."

"Griffin…" Phoebe looked up from her Communicator, "I can't contact anyone, or even see where they are."

"Not even Jakata?"

Phoebe shook her head and looked over as Finn came back. Finn gave Griffin a card, causing Griffin to cringe.

"She's somewhere else," Finn said.

Griffin looked at the Negate card, "I hope so…" he stared at the card and looked over at Eowyn, "If you're here, than where's Ave?"

* * *

" _Sora… Sora!"_

Sora slowly woke, the first thing she saw was Ave's face. She let out a blood-curdling scream, scooting away. "Don't do that!" she looked around, "Where's Griffin?"

"I…I don't know…"

Donha, Jahara and Tori sat a short distance away. Jahara sat leaning against a rock with her head back, eyes closed, talking quietly, looking as if she didn't feel good. Rai sat on a rock away from everyone, arms folded, scowling. His expression didn't change as Sora and Ave came back.

Tori looked up from his Communicator, "I think the signal is being blocked. I can't even contact any of you."

"Is that why Rai is pouting?" Sora asked.

"He made a comment and Jahara punched him."

Rai looked over, "I didn't mean it like that!"

Donha looked over at him, "You shouldn't comment on how a woman looks unless it's a compliment."

"But you said the same thing."

Jahara opened on eye, glaring at him, "He was polite."

Rai looked over at Tori, "Did you fix it yet?"

"Weren't you listening?" Tori closed it, "I tried calling the nearest Communicator, even with the SOS. Nothing happened."

"Well, it's the only way we can—" he looked over at Ave, "Ara has a smartphone. You can call her."

"Even if I had it I wouldn't be able to. It's missing, just like some of our cards," he hesitated, "And Eowyn."

Rai turned to Sora, "The Link Tai Chi. Luka almost never takes his off."

Sora felt around her neck, "Oh-oh," she looked up, "It's kind of gone…"

Rai stared at her, "You lost it?"

"Not on purpose, just like when Ara hid it."

"Ara found it because you weren't wearing it. If you were this time we would be able to get help."

"You lost some of your cards," Ave said.

"That's different. I don't wear my cards, even if they were the only one that can help us. Without the Link Tai Chi some of us will die," he glanced at Sora, or at least where she last stood. She was already running away.

Ave turned to follow and glanced back, frowning hard at Rai, "You must understand sometimes you are an idiot."

"You're not staying?" Tori asked.

"Jahara needs to rest and you and Donha can help her if she needs it. And control Rai." He left.

* * *

Phoebe helped Miya walk as they followed Finn. Griffin led Yuna with them. Eowyn had returned into Miya's backpack. Occasionally there was clicking and beeping, but she didn't return to confirm any of the Communicators started to work again.

Phoebe looked over at Griffin, "Do you think Jakata is okay?"

"He'll be fine if he's with some of the others. It will be better if he's knocked out for a while. If he knows you're not around he's going to get upset."

Miya looked over, "But Finn isn't upset Sena isn't here."

"Finn can handle it. Jakata is a lot more emotional," he looked over, "I'm more worried about Luka. He's been getting close to losing control during Dragonoid state for almost two months now. If Jahara or Sora aren't around, and if he and Jakata are near each other and he gets too stressed…"

"He's been through it before," Phoebe said, "Won't he be able to control it?"

"I assume he can, but only based on the fact he has a lot more control over when and how long he goes into Dragonoid state than I do."

* * *

Ara stared at her smartphone screen, pouting, tapping away.

Sena watched her, holding Brave, "Are you trying to text Ave?"

"No."

Sena looked back. Jakata was walking around the airship, sometimes stopping and looking around, hopeful. Luka sat leaning against the airship, holding his head, wincing, breathing through gritted teeth. He was progressively getting worse. Before he had only gone briefly into Dragonoid state every couple moments and now it was for longer amounts of time every few seconds.

"They're okay, Luka," Sena said.

Luka turned to her, for a second his eyes wild and unfocused. He sat up straighter when Ara grinned, only to slump when she frowned at the smartphone screen.

Sena picked up Brave, who was starting to fall asleep, "I'll ask Hak and Duran if they can talk to anyone yet, or even detect Communicator signals," she walked up the stairs and into the airship.

Jakata stared at where she had gone and turned to Ara, "If they fixed the thingy can they find Phoebe first?"

Luka hissed in pain, going into Dragonoid state. He glared at Jakata, his glare wild and deadly.

* * *

"Sora!"

Sora ignored Ave, continuing to blindly run. _It wasn't her fault she lost the card!_ She stumbled over a rock, dangerously close to the edge of a long and very, _very_ deep dark trench. She wind-milled her arms, screaming. Instead of wildly grabbing for Ave's hand she clung to him, sending them both into the trench. It took her a moment to realize they weren't falling. Ave held onto her with one arm, his free hand holding onto the ledge.

"Don't let go! I don't want to die!"

"We won't," Ave looked around for footholds and then up at his hand. The rock kind of strange. He stared at it. It wasn't a rock, unless rocks were a dirty tan, had two empty eye sockets and a big gaping jaw. He screamed. The skull dislodged and sent them into the darkness.

* * *

Tori stared at the "compass" in this hand as they wandered around, "Find isn't helping. Everyone shows up but then they disappear," he looked back, "And there are too many of us."

Donha was helping Jahara walk. They had started looking for the others when she felt better, and even though she insisted she was fine Donha still stayed close. Rai was ahead of them, talking about something they had long since lost interest in.

"It could be detecting Rai's cards," Jahara said, "You told it to 'find the others' and sometimes cards consider that to mean other cards."

"I found them!" Rai held up a Cardholder triumphantly.

Tori looked back at the compass, "There are still a lot of dots. A cluster might be moving towards us," he looked up, "It's a group of four… like who attacked us…"

* * *

Finn stood guard near the opening of the small cave they had found. It was a good place to rest. Occasionally he sensed faintly familiar presences, but he couldn't be sure. With the Communicators not working and with sense of direction completely off, along with being tense, he could just be overreacting.

He did feel as if a fight was happening, but by now it should have either ended or they would have gotten close to it. Sound carried a long way through the cavern. Yuna had been very disappointed when her voice didn't come back, instead just getting further and further away. Because of that, any noise was magnified and warped into unidentifiable sounds.

Yuna slept against Griffin now, and Miya leaned against Phoebe, quiet.

Phoebe looked over at Griffin, "Did you get your Communicator to work yet?"

"Not yet," he had the device connected to his Activator," "I still can't find a channel we can use. There is as new signal, but I can't connect to it. If I change the signal frequency, I might…"

"When you fix it can we call Jakata?"

"When I can," he expression was pained. Phoebe knew he wanted to call Sora first, and yet…

"You don't think Luka will fight him, do you?"

"Jakata is strong enough to take care of himself. The fight would be evenly matched. Jakata left during their fight the other day, maybe about five minutes after you left. If they would fight it would be long enough for anyone nearby to hear it and go help."

"But Luka hates Jakata…."

"Not enough to fatally wound him," Griffin looked up, "He would never do anything that would upset you, even if he does lose control. If he does he'll know you'll get upset if Jakata is hurt badly. At worst he might dislocate Jakata's jaw or shoulder again. It's going to be a lot worse than it actually is, especially when Jakata complains about it."

She wasn't going to argue with that.

Finn got a card out, slowly taking a step forward, focused on the path that sloped downwards. Voices came from that direction, but the distance of the owners was difficult to tell. It was hard enough distinguishing separate voices, although one of them was obnoxious….

Finn watched, tensed. He waited until the voices got louder and then activating Lightning, the attack striking just beyond the slope. There was a scream.

Griffin looked up. He watched, disappointed, as Rai stomped over the slope, his hair and clothes a mess. There was another scream, causing Rai to jump and look back. Miya looked around and leaned against Phoebe again.

Rai glared at Finn, "Why did you attack _me?!_ "

Finn waited until Rai got closer, only adding to the redhead's agitation, "You could have been the enemy."

"You could have at least waited until you saw me!"

Yuna woke up and frowned sleepily at Rai, "You're loud."

Griffin carried Yuna over as Jahara, Donha and Tori approached.

Jahara took Yuna back, hugging her. She looked at Finn and Griffin, "You came from ahead? Did you see Sora and Ave?"

"She's not with you?" Griffin asked.

"She was," Tori said, "Until Rai made her cry."

Rai frowned at him, "I didn't say it like that."

"You blamed her for losing her Link Tai Chi," Donha said, "She would have reacted better if you said it nicely."

Jahara turned to Griffin, "She ran away and Ave went to bring her back. They ran this way and there's only been one path. That was a while ago."

"…She's with _Ave?_ "

"As much as she's going to hate it, she's safe with him."

Miya got up, using the wall for support, "None of you are injured?"

Jahara watched her, "We're all fine. Are you feeling all right?"

"I'm just a little tired. We need to find Ave and Sora."

"Not until we rest. That will give you time to feel better and get our Communicators to work again. It will give a chance for Sora and Ave to come back."

Miya nodded and went to sit back down.

* * *

Rai sat near the entrance of the cave, watching, "Ara is redecorating my room, I know it."

"Unless she's distracted by chocolate," Jahara said.

"Then explain how the spider got in there."

"Because you don't clean your room."

"You can get to the bed and find everything if you have to. It's what Ara would call 'organized chaos'."

"No, isn't," Jahara turned, watching as Griffin, Donha and Tori worked on a Communicator. They even had it hooked to an Activator. They had the other Communicators set around in attempt to detect them.

Miya still leaned against Phoebe, looking better than she had earlier. Phoebe had her cards set in front of her, playing various games with them. Eowyn crawled out of Miya's backpack, stretched and went back inside.

Rai stared at the backpack, "Does Miya carry cookies or chocolate with her?"

"Not all the time," Jahara said.

"If there is any than either Jakata or Ara will find us."

"Not when there's a larger stash on the airship," Jahara said.

"If we melt the chocolate Ara will find us."

"If she finds out you melted the chocolate without her permission she will hurt you."

"…Well…" Rai looked over at Griffin, "Jakata can find us, right? He can find Phoebe if he wants to." Phoebe looked up.

"Not all the time, but if she's threatened or hurt he will."

Jahara narrowed her eyes at Rai, _"Do anything and you're going to sleep out on the deck until Ara says otherwise."_

"You won't punch me?"

"I will after Luka does."

Rai got up, "I'm going to walk around. Maybe one of the others is nearby." From somewhere else there was a yell, "Like over there." Rai ran up the path where he guessed the yell came from. There was a trench along the path, the bottom hidden by darkness.

The edge was relatively smooth, except for one spot ahead where it looked as if a rock had been there for a while before it fell. Near it holes scattered across the path, some deep enough to trip in. Rai ran along the path, keeping a safe distance away from the trench. The yell had to have come from somewhere around there…

He ran closer to the edge, looking over the side. His foot sank into an indent where the rock had been, throwing him off balance and into the darkness.

* * *

Jakata activated Heat, bursting out of the way of Luka's Water attack. He glanced around. Ara was still mostly hidden by rocks, still making faces at her smartphone, and Sena was still in the airship. They were safe, at least for now.

If he kept activating Heat and having it last for a few minutes at a time, Luka would eventually get tired from Tai Chi card use. Eventually. Hopefully soon, because he would only be able to activate Heat a few more times.

He had to use a distance attack or try to get in close and not get chopped by Luka's sword. Out of all the cards he had, none of them would be useful. They would either easily be overpowered or would allow him to get hit and chopped very badly. He twisted out of the way of one Water attack and got hit by the next, the force of it throwing him against the side of the airship.

"Jakata?" Sena looked down over the guardrail.

Jakata ducked, narrowly avoiding well-aimed arrowheads. "Stay down!" he ran out of the way of another Water attack.

Sena joined Ara, "What happened?"

"Luka got mad at Jakata," Ara frowned at her smartphone.

"Aren't you going to help?"

Ara looked up, watched the fight for a moment and focused on her smartphone again, "We all knew this would happen eventually," she stopped Sena from standing up, "Let them be. Let the angry Dragonoid with sling fight."

"But…"

"Luka just needs to take his anger out on something. And that something can be hyper and very obnoxious."

"Luka might kill him."

"…Well, Phoebe is going to need a new boyfriend."

* * *

Sora blinked a few times, wincing. She ached all over and her ankle really hurt. She slowly sat up, looking around. It was a lot darker. A dim light source from tiny cracks in the ceiling allowed enough light to see the shapes of what was within a several meter radius. Ave lay nearby on his side, his back facing her, completely still. Sora would have through he was dead, if he wasn't breathing squeakily.

"Sora?" his voice was small, "What's touching my back?" Every word was in a different accent.

"You're scared of a rock?"

"Is it the skull?"

"I don't think so."

Ave slowly breathed out and sat up. He slowly looked around, clicking his tongue every few seconds.

Sora watched him, "Why are you doing that?"

"We're in a cavern, not quite as big as the one before. There might be isolated rocks around us. Behind us is a slope too steep to climb that leads to somewhere open and … somewhere… above us is a hole that leads to another cave or cavern."

Sora blinked, "What?"

"You can't echolocate?"

"No, I can't. Why do _you_ if you can see?"

"Because it's useful when I can't."

"…Okay…" she started to get up and fell back down, yelping.

"Sora?" Ave slowly approached her.

Sora leaned away, "I must have tripped weird."

"You're favoring your right ankle. Can I make sure it's a sprain and it isn't twisted or dislocated?"

"…How bad is a dislocated ankle?"

"If it's ignored long enough the only way to fix it is surgery, and then the recovery time isn't very fun…"

Sora carefully took off her shoe and sock. She froze as Ave brushed his fingers against her ankle. She frowned at him, "Your fingers are cold." That had to be it. His fingers were numbing her skin. That had to be why it didn't hurt so much.

"I know. Cold hands can mean thyroid problems, but I don't have any," he shrugged. "It's a sprain. I don't have any long-lasting materials to make a splint right now. You'll have to stay off if until tomorrow."

"Has this happened to you?"

"I was playing with my siblings on a trampoline and I got both my feet stuck in the space between the tarp and the frame…"

"Trampolines sound dangerous."

"They are if you're not careful."

Sora carefully put her sock and shoe back on. "How are we going to—" she gaped as Ave activated Whip, having it twist securely around her shoe and above her ankle.

"That should last a few hours."

"I can't move my foot."

"You're not supposed to."

Sora looked around, "How are we supposed to get out?"

"We fell more or less straight down, so…" Ave looked up at a dark circle in the ceiling.

Sora watched him and warily backed away, "Whenever Jakata gets that look…"

Ave clicked his tongue a few more times, "There are two rocks jutting out of the sides up there." He activated Whip, having the single strands much longer and thick than normal, the end disappearing into the darkness above, leaving the rest to hang. He activated Whip again, having a much shorter whip pull the larger one down.

Sora glanced at Ave, "What's that?"

"A slingshot."

Sora stared at it, "Won't that kind of really hurt your back when it snaps you forward?"

"I've taken every precaution to make sure it's completely and painlessly safe."

"You go first, I don't trust it," she pointed at her ankle, "I should be careful. I can't land awkwardly."

"When I know if there's a way out I'll activate Cage and lift you out with a pulley system."

"How will that work if there's nothing for it to connect to?"

"I will think of that," he laid back on the larger whip and had the small one let go. He disappeared into the darkness above.

Sora watched, waiting. Ave's screams gradually grew louder and as he reappeared he activated Close, the card taking affect before he hit the ground, making a deep hole.

Sora stared down at him, "Are you okay?"

Ave squeaked in response and pulled himself out, wincing. "It keeps going on and the two caves are closed off."

"You hurt your back, didn't you?"

"Not as bad as that one time when I went skydiving and misjudged where the tree was."

"You hit a tree?"

He didn't respond for some time, "Yes, let's say that." Every word was in the same accent.

She watched as he moved on arm carefully, "Are you okay?"

"I landed on my arm before, it's just a bit sore."

"How much is 'a bit'?"

"I can't tell from my wrist to my shoulder what hurts more."

"Shouldn't you be worried about that?"

"I would know if it was broken."

Sora looked around, "Maybe Rain would work. This cave would fill up with water and we can just swim out."

"That's going to take a long time."

"A lot longer now with your hole here. Do you have any better ideas?"

"Wait for help."

"No one else is enough of an idiot to willingly walk close enough to fall in, too."

A scream came from above. A light flashed and Rai fell down, barely formed Wings dissolving on impact. He rolled down the slope, groaning.

"…You were saying?" Ave asked.

Rai slowly sat up, frowning, "We've been looking for you two!"

"We didn't choose to fall."

"Oh, so I'm the only one that ran along the edge?"

Sora stared, face blank, "You ran?" she glanced at Ave.

"You fell accidentally?"

"Why would I fall into a pit of death on purpose?"

Rai looked at Ave, "Do you know?"

"She didn't fall on purpose," Ave said, "Stop blaming her."

"I'm not blaming her."

"Your tone is."

Sora nodded.

"So then my tone made her cry."

"That was you."

Rai stared, silent for a short time and warily glanced at Sora, "You're not going to tell Luka, are you?"

"We won't have to," Ave said, "Once Sora gets her Link Tai Chi back Luka will sense emotional distress. He'll know it was you."

"Or you."

"…Maybe," Ave looked up where Rai had fallen from, "Wing won't be able to get us out."

"I've flown out of trenches before."

"The space is too narrow. I would scale the walls, but without secure footholds…" he shook his head, "It's too smooth. A spider-climb, maybe…"

Rai and Sora stared at him blankly.

"Then how do we get out?" Sora asked.

Rai turned to her, "Just combine Cause with Fire."

"I don't need to send us somewhere else."

"I could do it."

"We don't need to be teleported into a rock."

Rai turned to Ave, "You have Smoke and Move."

"I left most of my cards on the airship."

Rai glared at him, "You what?"

"You're blaming again."

"I'm not. My tone is."

Sora stared at him, "It's the same thing."

"No it's not. Can't you use one of your cards to signal the others?"

"You're the one that has a Fire card."

"I can't aim it straight up. It will fall back down and set me on Fire."

"Just like you did with Sena."

Rai pointed at her, turning to Ave, "She's accusing me."

"From what I understand you did that on purpose. You knew what the music box did and you showed everyone anyway."

"I thought she was the enemy!" he glanced around, "Don't tell her I said that."

"She likely already knows. You don't glare at the first friend you see and attack without reason unless you're under some sort of influence."

Rai turned away. "Whatever. It's not like I blinded her with a Light card."

Ave turned to Sora, "Do you have yours?"

Sora nodded and got it out. She stared. "You keep a compact mirror in your sleeve?"

Rai turned to stare.

"Activate Light by the slope," Ave walked over to the slope, facing the mirror at the glowing sphere. He flickered the mirror in its direction, reflecting the light up the trench. He repeated the action three quick times, waited, and repeated again.

"What are you doing?" Rai asked.

"Creating a signal. Light isn't as strong as sunlight, but it should still work."

"No it—"

" _Ave?"_

Rai ran over and looked up, "Jahara?! I fell!"

" _Did you find Sora and Ave?"_

"Yes," Rai said, frowning, "They're blaming me for stuff I didn't do! Can you send Thread down?"

" _Are they okay?"_

Sora shouted at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing throughout the cavern, "I'm not! I broke my ankle falling into the pit of death!"

Griffin responded, _"We'll send enough down for a harness and lift you out."_

Sora crawled over as Thread came down.

"Do you want me to tie it around you?" Ave asked.

"I don't trust Rai enough."

"Hey…"

Sora turned to him, "You wanted to go bungee jumping and tested it with a doll. The bungee cord snapped and you tried getting Ara to do it."

Ave finished tying off the harness, having it also be like a swing so Sora could sit instead of dangle. He did the same with Whip, only giving himself a harness, also.

Sora watched as he jumped up into the space above, setting one hand and foot on each side. "What are you doing?"

"If Thread gets cut or snaps for some unseen reason I'll still be able to get you out." He waited until Sora was almost level with him before hopping up, always making sure she wasn't too far away.

Griffin lifted Sora out and hugged her.

Ave sat away from the edge, out of breath. Miya carefully walked over and sat next to him, "Are you okay?"

He nodded, "It was a longer climb than I first thought." He watched as the others brought Rai up. Rai collapsed to the ground, "hugging" it.

Eowyn peeked her head out of Miya's backpack and happily exclaimed a word Miya didn't recognize. Eowyn went to Ave and laid across his shoulders, nudging his cheek.

Rai looked over, "Now can Eowyn take us back?"

Eowyn went inside Miya's backpack and brought out the smartphone and two Tai Chi cards. She stuck the smartphone back in Ave's sleeve and gave the cards to Sora, "Finn found Negate and Link was in Miya's backpack."

She floated a short distance away and grew to her larger size. Griffin set Sora on and climbed in front of her. Eowyn waited for the others before taking off.

Ave brought out his smartphone as it buzzed, staring at the screen that was full of messages, "What…?"

"Ignore those," Eowyn said quickly.

* * *

Jakata dove out of the way of another Pierce. The first had come shortly after a Water blast, tearing his cloths and cutting his skin. He ignored the thin red lines. He yelped, backing away as another Water attack cut in front of him.

"Jakata!"

Eowyn landed nearby. Finn jumped off and ran towards the fight, getting a card out. Luka activated Water and Pierce twice each, quickly in succession, creating Water blasts surrounded by and throwing glowing arrowheads, each stream blocking Jakata from moving. Finn activated Ice, freezing one of the Water streams, although that wasn't enough to stop the arrowheads from flying in all directions; the dissolving before they could hit anything, all except for the last one. It cut deep into Finn's arm. Sena and Ave ran over to him and stared at the cut. Ave's face paled.

Luka activated Water, the attack hitting Jakata, slamming him hard against the airship, pinning him there until the attack was over. He fell, unconscious.

Luka winced, going out of Dragonoid state.

Phoebe ran to Jakata's side, "Jakata?" she shook him, than shook him harder, screaming his name over and over. She looked up at Luka, tears in her eyes, "He's not breathing!"

Luka crouched next to her, and checked Jakata's pulse. He turned, _"Miya!"_


	11. Chapter 11

**Plasma57: ...I either didn't think of that or forgot to add that information. He would have had to find access to a portal.**

 **I didn't realize until the morning of posting this there are only two chapters left.** **This is one of the longer chapters.**

 **This chapter contains CPR and I very likely wrote it wrong. If I did I apologize.**

 **This chapter contains mentions and scenes of panic attacks resulting from PTSD. If I wrote the content incorrectly I apologize.**

 **I'm probably going to get an angry review or two for this chapter...**

* * *

Ara looked up from her smartphone, _"Oi."_ She went over as they rolled Jakata onto his back, "…You're not going to give him mouth-to-mouth, are you?"

"Use Breathe," Luka said, beginning to do chest compressions.

"But why—"

"Just do it!"

"You're going to owe me a _lot_ of chocolate," she activated the card.

Miya crouched next to Luka, offering him a card, "Finn said because you have a Reverse card—"

Luka took the card –Lightning- and activated it after Reverse, having electricity cover his hands and continued the chest compressions. _It wasn't working…_

" _You're not going to leave Phoebe alone again!"_

Jakata jerked and rolled over, coughing up water. He laid on his back, wincing and letting out a long whine. He squeaked when Phoebe hugged him.

Ara sat down next to him, "Did you see any pretty lights?" She glared at Luka, "So close!"

* * *

They were all in the medical room, crowding the small table. Jakata leaned against Phoebe, dozing on and off as Miya checked everyone's injuries. He looked up as Jahara brought Miya another first-aid kit, one he didn't recognize. Finn didn't look like he was happy to see it. He carefully rolled back his sleeve. His arm had almost been completely cut through, and yet…

Rai tilted his head to one side, watching as Miya helped and showed Sena how to position Finn's arm, "Can we see what his insides look like?"

Ara glared at him, "No," she got up and chased him out of the room, "You uncaring idiot!"

"How long will it take to heal?" Sena asked.

"Not too long," Miya said, threading a needle, "Maybe a few weeks at the most." Finn nodded. Miya turned to Tori and Jahara, "Could you use Numb and Soothe?"

Everyone else got up and left the room. Griffin helped Phoebe take Jakata to his room.

Tori came out soon after, "I gave Numb to Sena, and Jahara is going to help with the stitches."

Luka nodded and turned to Sora, "Are you all right?"

Sora nodded, smiling widely, keeping her weight off of one foot, "You know me, I'm a klutz."

"Does this have to do with Ave's wrist?"

Sora turned to him, "You said you didn't break anything. Was this when you spider-climbed or whatever?"

Ave looked away, "It isn't broken yet…" He watched as Ara dragged Rai towards them.

Rai's yelling instantly stopped when he saw who was present, glancing around like he was pleading.

Luka stared at him for a moment, "…Did you do something?"

"No!" Rai coughed, "No." He gave a begging look in Sora and Ave's direction.

Luka turned to Tori, "What happened? No truthful lying."

Tori glanced at Rai and after blinking rapidly for a few seconds, "If you ate yourself would you be twice as big or all gone?"

Luka turned to Donha, "Do you know what happened?"

Donha gave Rai an apologetic look, "Sora was separated from her Link Tai Chi. Rai blamed her for losing it and made her cry."

Luka glared at Rai. Ara let go and, along with the others, went somewhere much, much safer. "Is that why Sora is injured?"

"She said she didn't fall purposely into the trench..." he looked over as Sena helped Finn walk out, "Help me."

Sena looked at Luka, "Did he do something stupid again?" she turned to Rai, "No." She and Finn continued down the hall.

Rai glanced at the open door, "Jahara! Luka is going to kill me!" His words were drowned out by clattering and a thud.

" _Miya?!"_

Luka gave Rai another glare, "Ara will decide your punishment." He went into the room.

Rai's face paled, "No! Wait! You need to punish me!" The response was the door shutting in his face.

Jahara helped Miya sit up and looked up at Luka, "She just suddenly collapsed…"

Miya looked up, smiling weakly, "I'm fine."

"You should rest for a little while," Luka said.

"But the others…"

"If we need you we'll come and get you," Luka opened the door so Jahara could carry Miya out. He waited until Jahara came back, "She's getting worse, isn't she?"

She nodded, sitting across from him, "Phoebe even said Miya couldn't get up for a while…" she looked towards the door, "Miya said she has been feeling kind of sick for the last few hours. I'm hoping it's only that…"

"When this is over we can ask the palace healers about it."

Jahara nodded and got up, putting the few supplies away, "Miya didn't get a chance to check over Jakata," she looked back, "Or even you."

Luka stretched out his arm and moved it around, "It feels better." There was a tiny cracking sound that made him wince.

"What happened earlier?"

Luka looked away, "I lost control. I think Jakata was trying to protect Sena and Ara…"

Jahara sighed, "You're not going to tell Phoebe to stay away from him again, are you? She's already upset enough over him almost dying. You're not going to be able to keep her from getting married someday."

"Are you implying—"

"I could be."

"You're not worried about the wrong man will want to marry Miya?"

She shook her head, "It's not my job to choose him, and he will have to ask Aidan and my father, or if he's stupid enough to marry her without asking…"

"No one is brave enough to do that." Considering how scary Miya's adoptive family could get, and they weren't nearly as intimidating as her six older (and _big_ ) overprotective brothers were… When Luka had asked to marry Jahara they had made him go through a series of tests. At least until Jahara found out and saved him.

"Are you going to be like this when Yuna wants to get married?"

Luka gasped, horrified.

Ave walked in, "Jakata _is_ a Doll, correct?"

"Yes," Jahara said.

"Then why is it he has multiple cuts, some of them deep enough to later on leave scars, and Finn almost got his arm cut off and there's _nothing,_ not even blood?" When they didn't respond he went on looking over the bottled herbs on the shelves, picking a few out. "It's strange. Jakata isn't acting very much like a Doll, since most Dolls can't have dreams, but I suppose that's because he's one of the ones that has more human traits. Most Dolls aren't that loyal, either, and those that are will be more likely to protect those they consider to be part of their group—"

Jahara interrupted him before he could speak any further, "What are you doing?"

"These will help Miya feel better."

"Ave," Luka said, "She might have one of the sicknesses that exists here. Because you grew up on Earth—"

"I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" Jahara asked.

"I'll be fine," he said again, and picked out a few more things, including a small jar of honey. "Do you know what she has?"

"No, but she's always been sickly. Over the past few years she started to randomly collapse, but now it's becoming more and more frequent."

"My sister is the same way. If Miya has the same condition she needs the right treatment and she'll be fine. It isn't known here yet, but I can take her back with me and get her treated."

Jahara relaxed, nodding, "Thank you."

He started to leave and turned back, "Oh, and Rai is still waiting for you to punish him."

Luka glanced up, "Tell him he'll get it tomorrow."

He nodded and left.

Jahara turned to Luka, "Ara is going to have fun tomorrow morning."

* * *

Miya laid in darkness, massaging her head in attempt to get rid of the on-coming migraine. There was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in," Miya sat up, smiling in greeting as Ave came in. He didn't turn on the light, instead leaving the door open just enough to allow enough light in to see. He sat in the chair next to her bed, offering her a cup of tea.

"It will help with your headache. I had to add honey because the herbs make it very bitter. For some reason it also keeps your tongue from turning black, going numb and losing sense of taste for days."

"That sounds like what happens when you eat anything Sora cooks. Along with insects and germs being afraid of you."

"It's bad if germs completely avoid you."

"A few years ago Rai panicked when he could get sick again," Miya sipped the tea, "You're not worried that you might get sick?"

He shook his head, "The reason why my family moves every few months is because my parents are travelling healers. I help them."

* * *

Phoebe stood outside the door and looked up as Ave came out, "Could you… check Jakata?"

"I already did, actually. He'll be fine. If it makes you feel better about it he could be watched overnight."

 _Luka wasn't going to let her…_ She looked over as Sora and Luka came over. Sora was carrying a small box, looking unsure.

"How is Miya doing?" Luka asked.

"She's fine, other than she'll need to rest for the next day or two."

Luka nodded and turned to Phoebe, "Jakata was asking for you. He's going to listen to you, so tell him I'm sorry about earlier." Phoebe nodded and started to leave. "And tell him he has to stay on his side of the room."

Phoebe turned, staring at him, blinking, "What?"

"He should be watched tonight, and you might have to convince him he doesn't have to be afraid of water."

 _Was… was he saying…? She wasn't going to question it before he changed his mind._ She nodded and quickly left.

Sora offered the box to Ave. It was filled with papers, a book and a picture frame, "These used to belong to you. We found them and one of the Chil-heng in your old house. The ghosts of your family still live there, and they'll be really happy to see you again. We can go visit them some time." She glanced at Luka. He nodded.

"Not until all of this is over," Ave said, picking up the picture frame, staring at it, trying to recognize his family members.

* * *

Rai got the cookie jar down for Phoebe, its current location out of reach so Jakata couldn't raid it in the middle of the night. "Jakata is okay, right?"

Phoebe nodded, setting cookies on a plate, "That's what Ave said."

"That's good."

Phoebe looked up at him, "…You're not concerned only because he's your ' _contest!'_ rival?"

"Well, yeah there's that, but he is my brother."

* * *

"That's impossible," Ave said.

"It isn't," Ara said. They stood in the hall the next morning. The shower had been running for about twenty seconds and shut off. Seconds later Finn walked out of the bathroom, completely dressed and dry, his entire time inside having been thirty seconds.

Ave gaped, giving Ara some paper money. "Did he even…?"

"Yes. One time Rai gave him a mud bath. Even his clothes where completely clean." She took one step towards the bathroom and Rai ran inside, shoving her out of the way, laughing. He slammed the door behind him.

" _You have to be faster than that, Ara!"_

"Does he do that to everyone?" Ave asked.

"Yes," she wined when the shower started and Rai began to sing very badly, steam already rolling from underneath the bottom of the door, "His showers always take at least half an hour," she smiled, "And because he was an idiot yesterday, I'm going to do _this_. "

* * *

" _Ara!"_ Rai shouted, _"I can't find my towel!"_

"Really?" Ara held out the towel in front of her, examining it.

" _Do you know where it is?"_

Ara glanced around and, as Luka passed by with a full basket of dirty laundry she tossed the towel onto it, making Luka stop and stare. "Well, I _thought_ I did. Why don't you just come out and get another one?"

" _You know as well as I do if I do that Jahara is going to beat the living cheese out of me!"_

Jahara stared at the door, nibbling on a cookie. She turned to Luka, "What's 'cheese'?"

Ara glanced at her, "The stuff Rai has in a can. You know, the really thin and yellow 'whipped cream'?"

Luka and Jahara made disgusted faces.

* * *

" _Ara?"_ Rai said half an hour later, _"Are you still there?"_

"Do I hear desperation in your voice?" Ara smirked.

" _Can I just have a towel?_ Any _towel?"_

"I found _one_ …."

The door opened a crack and Rai grabbed around wildly.

Ara held it away, "Say 'please'."

Rai hesitated, "I'll buy you chocolate."

"Say 'please'."

" _Ara."_

"Fine, then I'll just leave."

" _No no no_! Ara! Come back! I'll give you the chocolate and do something else!"

Ara still stood there, staring, "Will you help me get revenge?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Ara let him have the towel.

Rai stomped out seconds later, frowning, wrapped head to toe in a slightly big bright yellow towel with a hood. "A hooded duck towel?"

"Hooded animal towels are very popular on Earth."

"Why couldn't it be something else? Like a tiger or a koala?"

"How else am I supposed to annoy Luka?"

* * *

"I don't know…" Sena said, doubtful, staring at a hand-drawn map, "This would be a better place."

Ara nodded and drew a star where Sena pointed, "The best place for this is—"

Rai slid past the door and quickly stepped back, "Contest!" he whipped off his shirt, only to see none of the men were present, "…Oh…" he picked up his shirt and put it back on. He wore loose comfortable clothes, unable to find his usual ones.

Ara let out a long sigh.

"Rai?" Sena said before he could leave, "Could you go find Ave? I need to ask him something."

Rai smiled, nodded, and ran off.

"…He's going to use this as an excuse for an ab contest…"

Ara nodded, "He's going to lie to Jakata that where will be cookies, and when Jakata finds out Rai lied to him again he's going to punch him."

"Any of us would," she studied the map until she heard Rai talking loudly. She looked up as Rai shoved Jakata into the room. Ave followed.

Jakata turned to him, "You said there would be cookies…"

"Yeah, I'll get you some after—"

Ara got up, "I can judge _without_ the contest."

Rai blinked, about to whip his shirt off again, "But the _contest_ …"

"Do it on your own time," she poked Rai in the stomach, "I still don't know what that is," she poked Jakata, "Hold back on the cookies a little bit," she turned to Ave, grimaced, and reluctantly poked him. She poked him a few more times and turned to Rai, "If you want abs, _ever_ , listen to him. Now go get Jakata the cookies you promised him," she went back to her chair and looked up at Jakata, "If you take him away right now I'll let you have an extra cookie."

Jakata nodded and dragged Rai with him.

Ave turned to Sena, "Rai said you wanted to ask me about something."

Sena nodded and glanced at Ara, "You see…"

* * *

Griffin replaced the panel, "We should be able to contact each other near the airship, at least."

Donha and Tori were working on repairing other parts of the engine room.

Tori turned to him, "Are we going to be able to get out of this place?"

"Not for a while."

Ave watched them, "Are you sure I can't help?"

"Not at the moment. The others need it more than we do. Besides," Griffin turned to Tori and Donha, "I don't hear Rai and Ara fighting…"

* * *

Rai set the music box on the table, "The last time I opened this it made me set Sena's hair on fire."

"Just don't set me on fire," Ara picked up Brave, holding him on her lap.

"I thought you didn't like little kids."

"This one is okay. He looks like you."

"He has _your_ eyes."

Ara set Brave back down, "Go and find an Activator and Explosion card for Yuna, okay?" Brave nodded and wandered away. Ara narrowed her eyes at Rai, _"You…"_

Rai pushed the music box forward, "Don't you want to see how it works?"

Ara stared at it and turned to the doorway behind them, "Ave, get in here!"

"What are you doing?"

"If you're going to attack anyone it should be Ave. He almost stole my chocolate and I didn't give him permission to scold you." She waited until Ave came and stood in the doorway, "Rai is showing me the Hwagoyu. If he starts to act weird stand in his line of vision. That will bring him back to reality."

Rai wound the small key and opened the music box. Instead of the melancholic tune it had played those few times before, it played a light, happy romantic tune. Ara and Rai gaped at the vision. They glanced at and poked each other, slowly exhaling.

"We will never speak of this again."

"Yes. Never."

They turned back to Ave.

"You didn't see anything," Ara said, her tone threatening.

Ave shook his head, his face turning a light red.

"Ave?" Miya walked up to him, "Is something wrong?"

Ave jumped, avoiding eye contact, his face turning redder, "N-no."

Miya turned to Rai and Ara, "Have you seen Sora? She left about an hour ago."

"She'll come back eventually," Ara said.

"She didn't tell anyone why."

Ave turned to her, "Are you worried Ryong might have lured her away?"

Miya nodded, "The only reasons he failed before was because she was always with someone."

"He won't hurt her," he looked over at Rai and Ara, "Are either of you coming?" He didn't wait for a response before he left.

Rai got up, "I want to fight him."

"You want to fight everyone," Ara relaxed in her chair, "I'm staying."

"Don't destroy the music box."

"It belongs to your mom so I'm not going to. That… that… probably isn't true."

"Well, yeah, because we're not married yet."

Ara glared at him.

* * *

Griffin studied the ground, "It's too dry."

"This is the only way she could have gone," Ave said. Eowyn flew around ahead of them, looking around.

Rai turned to him, "How do we know Sora didn't fall again?"

"She's fine."

"How do you know for sure?"

"Because you should never assume one is dead until it's proven they're dead."

Rai blinked at him and shrugged, "Torah planned this."

"We don't know if Torah is here," Phoebe said, "And I thought you wanted to fight Ryong?"

"I changed my mind. Why else would he have sent those four to attack us?"

Jakata looked over at him, "Torah likes to work alone."

Rai frowned at him, "You're only here because Ave said you could be."

Ave turned to him, "There's an item near here. He's only trying to find it."

Phoebe nodded, "It's the same one he's been sensing for a while."

Rai looked away, "Let's just find Sora and get her back before Miya sends anyone else."

Ave glared at him, "The only reason she even got up instead of resting is because she's worried."

Eowyn landed on his shoulder, scolding him in a foreign language. He responded back in the same language, sounding annoyed. Eowyn sighed lightly and said something else. Ave responded with just a few words, more relaxed now. Eowyn turned to the others, "I doubt Torah is anywhere nearby. If he's even here. I would have sensed him by now."

"Were you able to before?" Rai asked.

"Angry powerful Tigeroids are easier to detect than happy calm ones."

"Is that why you can't sense Sora?"

Ave glared at him.

Eowyn shook her head, "Sora is harder to detect because she's a Hybrid. I sense her as a Dragonoid, and unless she's in danger I won't be able to—"

A scream came from ahead, "Rai, Ave, Jakata, Phoebe, Griffin, somebody! Help!"

They ran ahead, finding Sora dangling off the side of the trench. Ave stopped first, watching, frowning.

Jakata turned to him, "Is that where Sora said she fell into the pit of death?"

Ave slowly nodded.

Griffin pulled Sora up, "What happened?"

"I fell. I—"

Jakata activated Tie, tying Sora against a rock.

" _Hey!"_

Rai gaped at him. Griffin got his pocket knife out.

"That isn't Sora," Jakata said, "She called for Rai first, Griffin last, and…" he looked over at Ave.

"She called for me. She's using a Transformation Tai Chi."

They all backed away. Rai turned to everyone, "Do we take her back or…"

Eowyn darted out of Ave's sleeve and onto his shoulder, clutching his smartphone, "The airship is being attacked!"

"We have to go back," Ave said, "If the Rogues are after the Chil-heng…"

They started to leave.

"But…" "Sora" watched them, "Jakata…"

Jakata stopped and looked back, "…Tie will lose affect when Transformation does." Ave got a card out, about to activate it. Jakata turned to him, "Bring her with us."

Rai stared at him, _"Why?!"_

"She… needs to… I don't know why."

Ave turned to him, "If I bring her she'll be freed much earlier than if we leave her here. Are you sure?"

Jakata nodded.

"Well," Rai said, "If she's important to the Rogues we can use her as a hostage." He stopped laughing when Jakata glared at him.

"If she's like most of the Rogues than she's a Doll. She wouldn't be a hostage for long, unfortunately," Ave activated the card, Smoke.

When they returned in front of the airship they had to dive out of the way of an energy blast.

Jakata hid behind a rock, glancing at Ara, who hid behind the same one, "We didn't find Sora."

"You found Tela. The other two mentioned her. The angry one that wants to kill you doesn't seem to care about her at all."

"…Did I do something to annoy him?"

"That wouldn't be surprising." She peeked around the rock to watch as Rai and Griffin join the fight. Jahara fought Rita and Luka fought another Rogue they had never seen before, likely "the angry one". Tela stood out of the way, looking between the fight and where Jakata was hiding.

"Did they come for the Chil-heng?"

"I'm not sure. If they did they would have sent Rita in while Dan and the angry one distracted who was here. They sent Tela to split us up."

"They planned that?"

"They could have seen Sora wander away and had Tela follow her."

Luka joined them, panting, "He's more powerful than the others."

"Why does he want to kill me?" Jakata asked.

"I don't know."

A stray attack hit the rock that hid Phoebe and Ave, causing it to explode. Phoebe screamed, fleeing.

"Phoebe!" Jakata ran to her.

" _Jakata!"_ The angry Rogue activated Insect, having a swarm appear. Rita and Dan abandoned their fights, watching.

The insects became covered in ice, disappearing before they could hit the ground. Finn stood at the bottom of the airship's stairs, watching warily.

Tela ran up to the other Rogue, "Just wait until they get back." She glanced over as Rai, Griffin, Sena and Jahara went back.

The Rogue turned to her, "You're the only one that's still loyal to him."

"But—"

"He _betrayed_ us!"

Finn and Ave tensed. Ave backed a step away, glancing over as Miya came down the stairs.

"Miya, get back inside."

"But you're hurt."

He brushed his fingers above his right eye, finding a thin, short cut, "It's minor enough. It can wait until later," he glanced over at the Rogues. The angry one was still yelling at Tela, and the other two were started to shift uneasily, "Just stay near the airship for now."

Tela backed away, "Why do you hate him?!"

The Rogue reached for his Activator. Rita and Dan moved forward to restrain him.

"She's on our side," Rita said.

"Not if she's siding with him!"

Jakata took a step forward, holding on of his cards, "Who are you?"

The Rogue turned to him, "So you really don't remember us," he freed himself from Rita and Dan, and pulled back his hood.

Finn breathed in sharply, "…Yanima…"

The others pulled their hoods back too. Jakata glanced at Phoebe.

"Lita, Dag, and Terra. You told me about them once."

"Why are you with them?" Yanima asked, "Dag last saw you when he took the Tigeroid Tai Chi to Mishka." He frowned, "You only made him leave so you could get captured and then later on you could win their trust by getting the Tai Chi back. That was your plan, wasn't it? You always liked them more than us."

Jakata turned to Phoebe, "What is he talking about?"

"You wanted to fight Rai. Mishka sent all of you on a suicide mission. He killed Dag."

Dag stared at her, "He did what?"

Jakata turned back, "Mishka is bad."

"He's the reason we're here," Yanima said, "Because he's—"

Pillars of ice grew out of the ground in a circle around Jakata's former team, large gaping holes appearing as the ice rapidly melted. Finn activated Ice again, his hands shaking badly as the melting ice formed.

"Finn?" Sena went over to him.

Finn turned to her, his face white, _"…Why…?"_ He went to her, not even twitching when she hugged him.

"Get him out of here," Griffin said.

They didn't even make it a few steps to the stairs when Finn's legs buckled, and Sena had to lead him over to and sat with him against the airship near the stairs. She activated Darkness, having a small dome form around them, opaque just enough to still see what was happening.

"We'll go inside when you're ready, okay?"

Finn nodded numbly, eyes closed, trying to block out the muffled voices that still got through the dome.

Terra stood between both sides again, looking back and forth, conflicted.

"Your friend stole a book," Yanima said, "We would like to take it back."

Terra turned to him, "No, we—" Yanima silenced her with a glare. Terra backed away a few steps to the others.

Yanima frowned at her, "If you side with them you're dead to us."

Lita and Dag stared at him.

Terra looked back at Jakata and then at Yanima.

Jahara turned to Luka, " _Jakata_ was the one you hated?"

"Yanima wasn't like this. He was much calmer…. He abandoned his team, but…"

" _Yanima?!"_

Yanima activated Lita's card. Terra managed to run away enough to avoid getting hit directly, but the blast was still enough to knock her away.

"Terra!" Jakata ran over to her, almost getting hit by another attack.

Miya ran over, activating Break to destroy another oncoming Shell attack. She stumbled.

Ave ran to her, activating Move, intending for it to give Lita her card back. Instead, it not only did the desired effect, but transported Yanima in front of him. Ave jumped, stumbling sideways.

Yanima grabbed him, holding him from behind with a knife at his throat, causing him to completely freeze up.

Yanima smirked, "Just like last time."

Jahara took a step back, "He's the one that…"

Luka took a step forward, about to draw out his sword.

"Drop your Activators and cards," Yanima said, "If you want your friend to live bring me the rest of the Chil-heng."

Phoebe turned to Luka, "They have the other three. We can't just—"

"…We don't have a choice." He set his sword, Activator and Cardholder on the ground.

The others did the same. Ara sighed, "I'll go get the stuff." She went inside.

"You're the one that attacked his family…" Jahara said.

"They were loyal to the Tigeroids. Letting them live would have caused complications," Yanima said.

Jahara glanced at her cutlass. Luka shook his head.

Jahara crouched next to Luka, her voice low, "He's going to kill Ave anyway, isn't he?"

"If he didn't get to back then, and he would even kill his own teammates, why wouldn't he?"

" _Hey. Hey!"_ Yuna frowned up at Yanima, her expression matching one of Luka's expressions Sora often called "The Glare".

Yanima stared down at her, _"What?"_

"You're a bad man," she glared defiantly up at him. In one hand she held two cards, in the other an Activator.

Yanima laughed, "You can't even use those."

A soft glow engulfed Yuna, and tiny scales grew on her face and her hair grew longer and wilder. She silently activated one of the cards. The Pierce character lit, and a lone, glowing arrowhead cut across Yanima's face, causing him to drop the knife, jerking back, freeing Ave. Before he could reach for his own Activator Yuna activated the second card, Explosion, sending him flying back.

Miya sat next to Ave against the airship, talking to him quietly. Every few seconds Ave went in and out of Dragonoid state, each time a little slower as he listened to her gently repeating "Inhale, exhale."

Ara came back, carrying a bulging sack, "What happened?"

"Yuna," Griffin said.

"Ah," Ara went back to the rock she had been sitting against.

Terra warily watched where Yanima had landed. She turned to Jakata, "He's going to kill me!"

"We all saw," he got up with her, "When this is over I'll ask the others if you can stay," he led her over by Ara, "Stay here."

Ara glared up at him, "You're going to owe me a lot of expensive chocolate."

Luka turned as Jakata came back, "Jakata…"

"Yanima is being really bad."

"You still don't remember what she's like."

"Well, no, but everyone can change. Sora always said how mean Ave was, and he's nice now."

Luka looked over. Ave had calmed down considerably, that extent being still rapidly breathing and longer periods before going into Dragonoid state.

Miya started to stand, "Do you want to go back inside?"

Ave shook his head.

Luka turned back, "He was affected by the Time Tai Chi. He had to grow up again, and this time he has a family."

"What happened to his first one?"

Luka hesitated, "On the day the war started all of them were killed by Dragonoids. Judging by what Yanima said, you could have been involved."

"…What…?" he turned to Terra, "Did I kill anyone?"

Terra looked up, "We could never find you," she went back to her conversation with Ara. She didn't look very happy, and shook her head a few times.

Ara looked over and leaned in closer, whispering. Terra smiled and nodded.

Jakata turned to Phoebe, "…Why…?"

She looked away, "Back then all you knew was fighting. You're the only one in your team that knows more than that…"

"Can the others learn, too?"

"I don't think Yanima will want to…" she looked over as Lita and Dag were helping steady Yanima, who couldn't walk even a few steps without losing balance.

Griffin watched, frowning.

Ara looked up for a few seconds, "Scowling at the crevice won't help you see it."

Rai turned to her, "…Crevice?"

"You can't see it unless you're high up. The wall and ground create an optical illusion that nothing is over there."

"I fell into one trench already. I can survive another."

"The bottomless abyss part, no. If any of us fall straight into it we're dead."

"So falling into the trench's trench is bad."

"Yes."

"Okay."

Luka turned to Ara, speaking in Hangugeo (Korean), "Take the Chil-heng back inside."

Terra stared at him with confused admiration.

Ara sighed, _"Oui."_ She didn't get back up, though.

Jahara took Yuna back inside, stopping briefly to look over at how Ave and Finn were doing. Ave's breathing was still returning to a normal rate, and he wasn't starting to lose control, at least. Finn wasn't hiding his face against Sena anymore, but he still didn't look like he could even get up.

Luka turned to Jakata, "If it comes to it will you fight them?"

"Just a little bit. I can do that," he nodded.

"No. Fighting them with the intention of defeating them. Dag and Lita are still sided with Yanima and we don't know about Terra. Yanima is more violent than he used to be."

"He's just angry…" Jakata said.

"No," Griffin said, "I had Ave translate part of the book he brought. Yanima is—"

"Hey!" Ara shouted.

Terra ran back to Yanima, taking the sack with her.

Jakata watched, "Terra?"

Yanima took out one of the smaller Chil-heng, the pole, and began to expand it. Armor encased his arm. Dag, Lita and Terra jumped back.

Rai activated Wing, flying towards the Chil-heng, activating Sword.

Luka picked up his Pierce card and Activator, watching.

Griffin turned to Ara, "Aren't you going to warn him?"

Ara shrugged, unwrapping a chocolate bar, "Let him be."

Rai and Yanima fought with Sword and the pole, close enough to the sack that no one wanted to get even near it. Dag and Lita kept exchanging glances. Terra looked at the sack and then over at Luka.

Jahara came back, watching, "Terra?"

Luka looked at her, nodded and looked back. Terra stood inches in front of him, making him jump back.

She looked up at him, "Will you take me on a date?"

"No, I—"

"Because you need the Chil-heng… Okay!" She ran off, "Yanima! Give me the stick!"

Jahara watched and slowly turned to Luka, "…She's the one I was replaced with…"

"Unfortunately."

Jakata joined in the fight against Yanima, his hits aflame from Heat doing nothing against the armor. Whenever Yanima attempted attacked him Rai blocked the blow with Sword, allowing Jakata to get another hit in.

Rai glared at him, "You're not even punching him!"

Yanima swung the pole, hitting Sword enough to shatter it and knock Rai away. Terra yelped, dodging Rai.

Yanima glared at her, _"What?"_

Terra took a step back, glancing at the sack.

"…You're going to give them back."

"I—"

Yanima ran at her, pole raised.

"Terra!" Jakata activated Heat again, becoming engulfed in flame. He burst forward, taking Terra out of the way, hitting Yanima in the process. The armor shattered on impact, and didn't reappear.

Yanima glared at the pole, shaking it.

Jakata took Terra back, "Why did you…"

Terra looked away, "Well…" she watched as Rai fled over.

" _He isn't happy!"_

Yanima walked over to them, dropping the pole, getting his Activator. Behind him Dag and Lita did nothing, looking very unsure.

Luka glanced at Jahara, "Take everyone back inside."

"Luka…"

Rai got his Fire card out, "I can stay."

Griffin turned to Jakata, "Trap him with Tie and then Sena can use Darkness."

"But that isn't fair."

"And it's fair everyone here will get hurt or even killed because he's after you?"

"He's still my brother…"

The card Yanima got out scared Terra into hiding behind Jakata.

A single green whip lashed Yanima's wrist, making him drop the card. The Move character appeared on it, taking it away. Yanima glared at Ave, who stood, holding a card.

"Ave…" Miya said.

Ave activated the card again, taking himself and Yanima a little further away. Ave activated Sand. Sand poured out of the Tai Chi character, circling Yanima.

Yanima activated Insect. The insects flew in a wide circle around them, blowing the sand around, making it difficult to see –or hear- what was happening.

Rai turned to Luka and Jahara, "Should he help him."

"If he needs it," Luka said.

The sand cleared, revealing multiple deep pits in the ground, both fighters panting, clothing torn in places. Ave held his Activator awkwardly.

Miya took a few steps forward and was stopped by Jahara.

"He's fought with a badly injured wrist before."

"But…"

Ave activated Cage. Yanima ran out of the way and had to constantly avoid the holes and each new cage, unable to activate a card in between. He glanced at the pit behind him, unable to see the bottom. Ave watched, Whip card in his hand. Yanima got another card out, activating it at the same time Ave activated his card. The character from Yanima's card, Remember, hit Ave. The whips instantly dissolved as Ave stumbled back.

Ave stumbled back against the airship, still trying to back away, his wide fear-glazed eyes unfocused as he slid to the ground. Miya slowly approached him, crouching down, carefully extending a hand, "Ave?"

He hugged her, shaking worse than he had before. He didn't seem to notice when Eowyn crawled into his sleeve and brought out his Smoke Tai Chi.

She gave the card to Miya. "He's never been this bad…." She went to Miya's shoulder as Miya activated the card, taking them back to Ave's room. It was the only place Miya could think of that had familiar surroundings…. Miya sat down with Ave, gently holding him around the shoulders with one arm.

His now terror-glazed eyes constantly shifted between unfocused with no signs of recognition to focused and recognizing her. Whenever it was the former he jumped and feebly fought against her. It wasn't helping his breathing was very rapid and shallow, and the natural response to lack of oxygen was panic. And his pulse was so much faster than it should be. If he got too stressed and his heart rate didn't slow down soon…

He didn't like being restrained, so maybe- as she let go he jumped and huddled closer to her. Miya lightly touched his upper back, "It's okay." She wasn't sure, but she thought she heard him plead "Don't go."

Eowyn nearly fell off of Miya's shoulder, startled. "Miya…"

Ave stiffened, looking like he was about to cry. He held back what sounded like a thin, breathy scream. He acted the same way earlier when-

He was reliving the memory of what happened all those years ago….

He whispered something over and over in a mix of languages Miya both did and didn't recognize, the two main ones being her native language and the one that Ave often spoke. Eowyn shrank back a little, her voice quiet, "He's saying 'If you move I'll kill you'," she looked up at Miya, "He really was threatened with death."

Ave gripped Miya's sweater hard enough to turn his knuckles white. He looked desperate, "Where are they?"

"'They'?"

His voice broke, the only sound coming out clearly was "twins."

"They're safe," Miya said gently, "They got away and are safe. They're at the secret hiding spot." Whether any of that was true or not, it helped him relax drastically, the extent being his grip loosening. He stared at the floor, starting to cry, slowly shaking his head. He started whispering "Don't go" again.

Miya gently touched his hand, getting him to look up at her, "You're not alone anymore. I'm here for you." She held him until he stopped crying, letting him hold her hand.

His breathing and heart rate slowed considerably, still a little faster than normal, but not as bad as before. He leaned against Miya, resting his head on her shoulder.

"Are you tired?" Miya helped him up and led him over to his bed.

Eowyn pulled the blanket back, stopped as she watched Ave flop down. She let Miya take the blanket. "He'll be okay now."

Miya pulled the blanket around Ave, "I'm going to get a glass of water. Do you want anything?" He shook his head. "I'll be five minutes at the most, okay?"

He nodded and reluctantly let go of her hand, falling asleep.

* * *

Sena ran for the Chil-heng. Yanima activated Insect, creating multiple swarms. Sena turned, activating Wind. The force of the two attacks colliding created a powerful rebound, blowing Sena off the cliff.

"Sena!" Finn shouted.

A tree grew out of the trench and stopped abruptly, withering away, shattering.

Lita gathered the Chil-heng, running off, "Terra, Yanima, we have to go!"

Yanima glared at her, "Not until—" he flinched, hissing in pain and then followed.

Terra followed, stopped, looked back, and then left.

Ara ran towards the trench, "I'll find Sena! Go find Sora!"

Finn stared at where Sena had fallen, face blank.

"She's okay…" Rai said, "She has to be. She isn't done yelling at me yet."

Phoebe turned to him, "Ara yells at you more."

"No, she argues with me. Sena just yells because I annoy her," he sat down, "We're not going anywhere until they come back."

Ara came back not that much later, staring at the ground, "…I couldn't find her…"

Finn stared at her and ran towards the trench. Ara ran after him, "I'll keep him from doing something Rai would! _Go find Sora!"_

Rai stared after her and looked up at Luka, "…Something I would do? What does that mean?"

Griffin turned to Luka and Jahara, "Stay here in case Ara needs help," he leading everyone else away.

Jakata turned to Phoebe as they followed, "Sena is okay. She's tough."

Phoebe gave a small nod, remembering what Griffin had once told her about how Dolls reacted to death differently than those that were real did, "Yeah…"

Griffin studied the ground, frowning. "There are too many footprints here. Including—" he looked up. Further up the path stood Terra.

Rai got his Fire card out, glaring at her, "Now what?" he glanced around.

"They're not here," Terra said. She ran to Jakata and hugged him, looking like she was about to cry.

Jakata turned to Rai, "She won't attack us."

Rai glared at him, "And how do you know that?"

"She would have already."

"She betrayed us about ten minutes ago. How do you know for sure we can trust her?"

Terra looked up, "I know where Sora is."

* * *

Finn glanced around wildly and came to a stop in front of the pit Ara had talked about. It was where Sena had…. _No no no…_ He activated Ice, creating a long, sharp icicle and held it in both hands.

"Finn! Wait!" Ara ran over to him.

Finn turned, glaring darkly at her. Ara took a step back.

She had always known if Finn rally wanted to he would kill her.

* * *

 **"Oui" is French for "yes".**

 **Credit goes to Kimiko Heroux for coming up with the "If you ate yourself would be be twice as big or all gone?" joke.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Plasma57: The Tigeroids have a portal at their base, so maybe that? Again I can't remember if I planned this out or not. When I go over chapter nine again I can correct that a bit.**

 **There will be a few fights in this chapter that really could have been expanded on, but I didn't have enough time to rewrite them and connect all the new extra content to earlier chapters. And that would have made this chapter _even longer_. Although I can use those extra ideas for another story, so that will work.**

* * *

"She isn't here anymore," Terra said, "She's near the Rogues' base. She was taken by Torah."

"I knew it!" Rai said. He glared as Donha set a warm drink in front of Terra, "Donha, she's the enemy!"

"But she's almost in shock."

"She did give up her Activator and cards when Luka asked her to," Tori said.

"She still lied to Jakata," Rai said.

Luka turned to Terra, "Do you know why Torah took Sora?"

"Probably to use her as bait. He wants to fight you, I don't know why. He really wants to fight the leader, too."

Rai looked at her, "Torah is going to lose. The leader has all of the Chil-heng."

Terra frowned, "No, he has six."

"Yanima said 'get the rest of the Chil-heng'. That means you have the last three, including the… last one."

"Togoyu," Luka said.

"Yeah, that."

"They only had two," Terra said, "You still have the last one."

"…It isn't the evil Reveres Mood-ring is it?"

Terra shrugged.

"Do you know what the Togoyu looks like?" Jahara asked.

"All I know is that it was stolen over a week ago."

Phoebe looked up, "Isn't that when Ave saved Jakata?"

Rai nodded, "And he can hide a lot of stuff in his sleeves…"

"But most of the Chil-heng are too big to fit in his sleeves."

"I don't think that matters. Eowyn can live in them and she pulled a lot of stuff out."

Terra looked up at Jakata, "Who are they talking about?"

"Ave is the quiet one that never attacked us."

"Really? Yanima never wanted to fight him."

The door creaked open and Miya came in, "Is everyone okay?"

Jahara nodded, "There were only a few minor injuries. I treated them. How is Ave doing?"

"Better than before. He's sleeping," she closed the door behind her, looking away, "The first time Yanima took him hostage he threatened him with death…"

"He remembered?"

"Maybe just those words and a few other things. He had a massive panic attack and relived the memory during it. He might be emotionally exhausted, so he'll be quiet for a while."

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, he wanted me to stay with him the whole time. It took him a while for him to be okay with me not holding him. He constantly asked where the twins were and if they were safe."

"What?"

"I think he had a little brother and sister."

Terra frowned, "Only his parents and brother and sisters were there. There weren't any little kids."

"All of his family died when the war started," Luka said, "The twins would be about Sora's age now."

"Still…" she shrugged, "It must be because most non-Dolls look the same to us Dolls."

Miya looked around, "Are Sena, Ara and Finn still looking for Sora?"

"We know where she is now," Jahara said, "During the fight Finn panicked and ran off, yes because of Yanima. Sena and Ara went to find him. They said if they weren't back within an hour they would call us and let us know if we should wait for them or go and get the Chil-heng back first."

Miya nodded, leaving, "Let me know when they call."

Luka waited until Miya was out of earshot, "What are we going to tell her?"

"I don't know," Jahara said, "It will have to be until after we get the Chil-heng back."

Tori and Donha shifted uneasily, "The engines are badly damaged," Donha said, "We can't even hover."

Tori nodded, "And we can't send out a distress signal."

"We have to leave before Yanima comes back," Terra said.

Rai glared at her, "The airship can't even move, so how are we going to leave?"

Jakata stared up at the ceiling, "We have to go that way…"

Terra turned towards the others, "The portal is above us. It should still be open."

"How was it opened?" Luka asked.

"Ryong used a Chaos Tai Chi."

Rai brought his out, "I can use mine."

Luka took it away, "We don't need to go to an alternate universe or a different world. _Again._ "

"Those times weren't _my_ fault."

Luka gave the card to Griffin, "Griffin knows more about it than you."

"Not if we can't even get up there. Just exactly how are we going to?"

Jakata sat up straighter, "Tori can make the airship lighter and use Up, and I can use Heat to boost us forward."

Everyone looked reluctant.

Jahara turned towards everyone else, "It is better than his other plans…"

"Why don't we just use a Smoke or Move Tai Chi?" Rai asked.

"The most we would be able to move is only three of us. Even though Jakata can move a larger group the location has to be a short distance away," Jahara said, "And unless we know that location well enough and it's within a certain distance…"

"You need someone who has a lot of knowledge of the Tai Chi," Luka said, "The twins have said it's nearly impossible to go somewhere you have never been before."

Terra blinked, "Ave used to do that all the time. That's how we found out where the Hwagoyu was."

Jahara glared at Rai as he started to get up. "Rai, no. Let him rest."

"So we're just supposed to wait here until he wakes up? What if he can't do anything?"

Jakata pouted, "I can move us…"

"We still have a little while to decide," Jahara said. She looked at Luka, "We can try Jakata's idea or wait for Ave to wake up. Maybe by then Ara and Finn will come back."

Luka shook his head, "We can't wait."

"Great," Jakata got up and pulled Tori along with him.

"I'm going to go supervise," Jahara said, getting up and following.

Phoebe got up to follow and glanced at Luka.

"If it looks like the airship is about to crash stay here Jahara."

Phoebe smiled, nodded and left.

"'If'?" Rai repeated, " _If_ Jakata's plan works at all the airship will crash."

"Not if it's only a few inches."

"Jakata will find a way to break something."

* * *

"Are you _sure_ this is a good idea?" Tori asked, looking over at the guardrail down at Jakata.

 _"Of course it is! Just tell me where to steer!"_

"Shouldn't Hak and Duran do that?" Jahara asked Griffin.

"They couldn't if they wanted to," he sighed and activated the Reverse card and then the Chaos card, changing the color of the portal in the ceiling.

Tori activated Light and Up, causing the airship to barely levitate. Jakata activated Heat and shoved the airship. It floated backwards slightly.

"This is going to take a while," he shoved it again, the flames flaring wildly until he finally managed to get the airship out of his reach. He yelped as he lost balance and fell forward. He activated Heat again and rammed against the airship, shoving it a short distance.

Jahara turned to Griffin, "Can you move the portal closer?"

"Unfortunately, no."

Phoebe walked over to the guardrail and watched as Jakata continued to ram against the airship. "Just push it!"

" _Will it hurt less?"_

"Yes!"

Jakata leaped at the airship, pushing it this time.

Tori looked around, "We're not moving any faster." He took his Fast card out.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Griffin asked, "You know what he's like when he's hyper."

"We need to leave before he burns himself out," Tori activated the card and the airship began to move towards the portal faster. He watched where it was. "Stay straight. A little to the side. Stay straight. Go left! Go left!"

" _My left or your left?!"_

"It's the same left! Your left!"

" _Which way is left?!"_

"The hand you hold your Activator in!" Tori activated Fast again, which was at the same time Jakata activated Heat, causing a sudden burst of speed. The airship darted into the portal. The scenery around them didn't change much, other than a dark sky above them and snow-covered mountains around.

And that's when all of the cards lost affect and the airship plummeted to the ground. Jakata activated Heat and jumped up onto the deck and sent a long blast of fire at the ground. Phoebe did the same with Water. The airship crashed into the ground, followed by a loud crack.

Jakata laid on his back, "The stars are spinning…"

The others carefully got up.

"We won't be able to leave now," Griffin said.

"Maybe Torah will let us borrow his airship?" Tori asked.

"We don't know how big it is," Griffin said, "It's probably only for short trips and can only hold two or three at the most."

"We can still ask."

Phoebe helped Jakata up, "Are you okay?"

He blinked at her, "Why are sparkly stars floating around my head?"

"…Let's go ask Miya…"

They went back inside, carefully avoiding anything that had fallen. When they got back Luka was rubbing his head, wincing.

Jahara sat next to him, "Luka?"

"I banged my head on the table," he frowned at Jakata.

"I told you he would break something," Rai said. Despite his controlled tone he looked like he was struggling to keep a calm face. He leaned out of the way when Jahara tried to poke him.

Phoebe got Jakata to sit in a chair. She turned to Terra, "Can you make sure he doesn't face-plant into the table while I get Miya?"

Terra didn't need to respond. The door opened and Miya led Ave in, quietly talking to him, moving slowly. Despite having been asleep for a little while, he still looked pale from his panic attack, and he looked tired.

Jahara slowly got up, "…Miya?"

"The crash," Miya said, "What happened?" Everyone else looked at Jakata.

Ave blinked slowly, "I could have used the Smoke Tai Chi."

"We wanted you to rest," Jahara said.

He barely nodded, leaned against the wall and started to doze off.

Terra looked up at Luka, "Am I staying here when you leave?" she looked conflicted, as if she wanted to go but was too scared to.

"You'll stay here with everyone else."

"…And then later? When you go to fight…"

"You're still going to stay here."

Jakata frowned, "She can come if she wants to."

Terra stared at him, "Yanima is trying to kill me!"

"Well … yeah… Okay you can stay here."

Terra turned back to Luka, "Torah will be where he can ambush you."

"How well do you know this area?" Rai asked.

"It's really easy to get lost."

" _That's_ helpful."

"Torah will probably stay closer to the outside if he can."

Luka shook his head, "He can hear his way around."

"So basically he can echolocate?" Rai looked over at Ave, "Sora said Ave can do that."

"We're not waking him up."

"If we get lost we won't be able to get back to get the— save Sora."

"Rai—"

"He does have a point, Luka," Jahara said, "Let's wait a little longer. Ave is the only one here than can use his Smoke Tai Chi effectively on a large group. If something bad happened…"

Luka got up, "We can decide who's going while we're waiting."

* * *

Rai glared at the canyon walls around them, "We've been walking around for an hour. Where is he?!"

"It's only been ten minutes," Luka said.

"I've been keeping back of the shadows. It's been an hour."

"We took a few turns," Phoebe said, "So of course the shadows would have moved."

"Not by that much," he looked over at Ave, "It's been at least an hour, right?"

"About eleven and a half minutes, actually." The only thing keeping him awake was Eowyn nudging him often and asking him questions in a foreign language that often had long answers.

" _Why is it taking so long?!"_ He glared at everyone as they spread away from him. _"What?!"_

"At least it's only been this long," Jakata said, "An hour would be bad."

"What's the difference?"

"How angry you are."

Rai glared away from him, "I'm not angry."

"Either we'll find Torah or Sight will find us first," Luka said, "You're going to have to wait until then."

"Sight could be lost, too."

"I doubt that."

"Why?"

Luka pointed ahead, "That's why."

The calico-tiger-cat sat on the ground and swished her tail in greeting. She got up and walked ahead, often looking back to make sure they were following. She led them down several more paths until they came to a wide space that eventually narrowed into a straight path that led to a trench.

Ave tapped Eowyn, speaking a few quick foreign words. Eowyn went on ahead.

Sight ran away, jumping up along rocks that jutted out of the walls.

Luka activated Pierce, the arrowheads slicing through growing nets made from an Imprison Tai Chi. He looked around at the top of the walls, slowly turning. Rai, Jakata and Phoebe also had cards out, waiting. Ave leaned against one of the walls, eyes closed.

"I don't see him," Rai said, pointing his card threateningly in every direction.

"Wait for him to attack again," Luka said.

Jakata looked over, "Well, he likes to use Imprison, so…" He yelped when Luka activated Pierce, destroying another net that had almost fallen on him.

Bolts of lightning rained down. Luka activated Water, having it hook-shot where he thought Torah was. The character for Shield flashed and began moving before it disappeared. This time cages combined with Lightning fell, each being destroyed only by a lot of effort.

"How are we supposed to fight if he cheats?!" Rai activated Fire to throw a cage into the sky. "He keeps moving!" He glared at Ave, "Don't just stand there! Do something!"

Ave calmly activated Sand and a section of the wall collapsed, bringing Torah down with it. Torah activated Shield to soften his fall. Sight ran out from where she had been hiding, darting around, almost running into everyone before sharply turning and running in a different direction.

Torah glared at Luka, his eyes softly glowing from the Sight Tai Chi, "You brought a group. That's hardly fair."

"Where is Sora and why did you kidnap her?" Luka asked.

"She's safe. How else was I supposed to lure you out?"

"If you wanted to talk you could have contacted us."

Torah blinked a few times, his gaze shifting over to Sight as she approached him. Sight sighed, swishing her tail. Torah activated Claw, glaring in Luka's direction, "It would have been on your terms, then," his glare became harder, "You kidnapped and caused _her_ death."

Rai turned to Luka, "What?"  
"Over twenty years ago an albino kidnapped _her_ during one of the early fights. I didn't see _her_ again until over a year later. She died from injuries because she tried and failed protecting my little sister."

"You're…" Luka relaxed his arm, "Torah, your sister is still alive."

"You don't know that for sure. Hybrids are still outlawed. You need one for your plan."

"What plan? I know your sister is because she's—"

Torah activated Imprison, this time simply immobilizing everyone, "Stop lying! Activate your Sight Tai Chi."

"…I'm not a Tigeroid…"

"Really, _almost_ Hybrid?" Torah walked up to him, "You've never been afraid to activate it before, and don't think just because you've changed your voice you're—" he frowned, "You got shorter…"

Rai stared at him, "What are you talking about?"

"You're one of the Rogues, so don't you know who your own leader is?" he glanced at Sight, who was flailing her tail, "What do you mean 'he smells different'?" He backed away a few steps, "…So then he lied about his name… But you still know what happened to _her_."

"…Do you know who General Aidan and his daughters are?"

Torah twitched, "Does it matter?"

"Do you know the reason why he chose Sena's name?"

"Sena is—"

"Yes. She was named after her aunt, Aidan's sister. Sora's mother was that Sena."

Sight flickered her tail, looking up at Torah.

Torah shook his head, "That Sora is dead."

Jakata spoke up, "That Sora is kind of the one you kidnapped." He glanced at Phoebe, "Our Sora is that Sora, right?"

Phoebe nodded.

Torah took a few more steps back, the effects of the Tai Chi disappearing, "But…"

"I never told her about you because I didn't know where you were," Luka said.

Torah didn't respond, turned away. Sight nudged this ankle, swishing her tail.

Jakata backed away, "We should go before he changes his mind and gets angry again." They followed him, looking back to see if Torah moved. He didn't.

The trench, at least, had a visible bottom. It went on for a long time on either side, and could easily be crossed with a short-time use of a Wing Tai Chi.

"So…" Rai said, looking both ways, "Should we split up?"

"Torah wouldn't have Sora faraway enough for that," Luka said.

"He could. He has a small airship. Sora could be—"

" _Ave!"_ Eowyn flew over, rapidly speaking in a foreign language, one of the words being Sora. Ave followed her down the path.

Jakata pointed, turning to Rai, "Sora is that way. Over there. Somewhere."

"I can see that."

When they got over there Ave helped Sora climb out of the pit.

Rai frowned, "Are the Rogues trying to trick us again?"

"No, that's Sora," Jakata said.

"But she hates Ave."

"Not enough not to let him save her."

"…Sora hates him."

"She would hug anyone else for saving her."

Sora ran over and hugged Luka, "Torah put me in a hole!"

"Why did you follow him?"

"He said he wanted to talk to me about something and mentioned he had a younger sister that was a Hybrid. I think he wants revenge on you."

"About that…" Luka said slowly. He hesitated, "Sora…" he glanced up, seeing the others tense, staring down the path. He turned.

Torah stood several meters away, avoiding eye contact.

Rai frowned, stepping forward, "What do you want?"

"You need to find the leader. I know about him."

"So does Terra."

He looked up, "Does Terra know where the base is?"

"Of course she does. She's been there for—"

"She doesn't, Rai," Ave said.

Rai turned to him, "Why not?"

"The base's location is kept secret from most of the members. I don't even know where it is."

"So that means…"

"We need Torah's help."

Rai gaped at him, "But he fought us! We can't trust him!"

Luka turned to him, "You fought all of us at one point, Rai."

Rai didn't respond for a while, "…Why should we trust him?"

Torah spoke up, "Because I know where the base is."

* * *

Hak and Duran stayed at the edge of the radar, watching Sight pace over it. Sight stopped and pointed at a certain spot, flailing her tail.

"It's closer than I thought," Torah said, "It's easily within an hour's walk."

"An hour?!" Rai gaped at him, "That's too long!"

"Rai," Luka said, warning in his tone.

"What?!" Rai glared at him, "We're wasting too much time! We could have found the Chil-heng if we didn't look for—"

In the next two seconds Torah had Rai shoved against the wall, Claw activated at Rai's throat, "If you didn't come looking for Sora you would have wandered around for months, possibly _years_. The base is protected by a maze and it's almost impossible to not get lost."

"I need the Chil-heng to save Mom."

"Do you really think the leader would simply trade them for your mother? You can't trust him. He would take the Chil-heng and either kill or capture you."

"But…"

Torah released him, turning away. "At least you still have a mother."

Jakata looked over, laughing nervously, "It's not that bad, Rai. We still have one of them," he petted Sight and then held her tail, flapping the tip in attempt to talk with her.

Sight hissed, scratching him, wrenching her tail out of his grip, flailing it angrily.

"Sight!" Torah glared in her direction, "Dolls repeat everything they hear!"

* * *

Luka closed the door behind him to keep the cool night air out. The temperature had dropped considerably since sunset. "What did you want to talk about?"

Jakata folded his arms on the guardrail, staring at the ground below, "Can you promise me something?"

"Depends," Luka walked up to him.

"If it comes to it, don't let anyone stop me from using Return again."

"You're not going to. Phoebe can't go through you dying again. You already died twice. She's traumatized enough."

"But…"

"Mishka isn't controlling you this time, and he can't try again because he's gone."

"Can we just wait until tomorrow?"

"Rai won't let us, and Torah thinks it would be better to go now while no one knows we're here."

"Can I just stay here?"

"You're the only one that can find the Chil-heng."

"…I'll find them and then come back. You can fight if you want to."

"And if we have to fight first?"

Jakata twitched, "…I don't know…"

* * *

"I say we pick straws to see who goes," Rai said.

Tori stared at him suspiciously, "You would rig it."

"Not completely."

Terra stared at the table, "Can I stay?" her voice was small, pleading.

Jahara turned to her, "We didn't change our minds. You can stay if you want to."

Luka turned to Jahara, "…Stay here…"

She nodded, "I have to watch Yuna and Brave."

Griffin started to get up. Luka turned to him, "I need you to stay here in case any Rogues come."

"I could do that if I wanted to," Rai said, "Let him come."

"He's more responsible than you."

Griffin blinked at him, sitting back down.

Luka glanced at Ave, "You should stay here, too. If one of the Rogues has a Hideous Tai Chi," everyone including him flinched, "and they know you were once affected by it they might use it on you."

"I have to come with."

"Ave-"

"I'm the only one here that memorized the layout of the base. I know about every room and secret passage."

Rai turned to Luka, "That's a good reason."

* * *

Rai glared at Ave, "I thought you knew it. We're lost."

Ave glanced around at the canyon walls, "None of the Rogues have been out here. The leader thinks it's pointless."

"Then how do they find their way back if they leave?"

"The airships have autopilot. And we are going the correct way."

"How do you know?" He watched as Eowyn came back, clicking her tongue and how Torah easily stepped out of the way of rocks that had fallen onto the path, even without using the Sight Tai Chi. "Oh, right."

"Is the base a really old castle or something?" Sora asked, "It can't be a cave."

"If you could call it a castle," Ave said, "It's run down and at night it's very cold. It's quiet uninviting. Not even rats come close."

The pathway ended, opening to a wide valley with meadows and a lush forest. Beyond was a tall mountain, one side of it completely flat, built into it was a man-made stone formation.

Rai gaped, "I am not walking that far."

Eowyn glared at him, "Because you asked so nicely, you will be while I take everyone else."

"What? No! I mean, of course I'm not walking that far, not when we have a powerful, _beautiful_ dragon to take us," he smiled widely.

Eowyn looked at Ave, "Do I have to?"

He responded with a few quick foreign words.

Eowyn smiled and nodded, "Okay."

"They will see us," Torah said, "It will be safer if we used Tai Chi, especially because Leon will be there."

"A friend of yours?"

"I've asked him for a few favors in the past."

Rai frowned, "You've been working with the enemy?"

Torah turned to him, "So have you."

"That was different."

"How?"

"The first time the Chaos Tai Chi activated and it was Luka's idea. The second and third was when he had to get the Tigeroid Tai Chi back. The fourth time is working with you."

Torah stared in his direction, "What are you talking about? This is the—"

"Oh, right, you wouldn't know about those three times."

Torah sighed, "We need to go," he looked over in Ave's direction, "Can you move all of us at once?" He question was answered by the sound of a Tai Chi card activating and a change in the temperature.

Phoebe huddled closer to Jakata, looking around at the dirty white stone structure around her. The walls were spider-webbed with thick long cracks. She wasn't sure how the once elegant pillars were holding up the ceiling anymore, with how they were broken in so many places.

Luka turned to Jakata, "Where are they?"

Jakata didn't answer for a short while and finally looked over, "…I can't tell."

Luka gave a warning glare to Rai and looked back, "Like back in the caves?"

"No, I can't even tell where the one that's been following me is."

Torah activated his Sight Tai Chi, the effect causing his eyes to glow softly. "There is a reason for it," he said, carefully walking ahead, pausing for Sight to tell him where to step around chunks of rubble and cracks in the floor that exposed stone underneath. He waited until the others followed him, "This is where the Chil-heng were created. The original Guardian lived here."

Rai looked around, "But it's like the palace…"

"The royal Dragonoid family are distant relatives of the Guardian."

Rai puffed out his chest and smiled over at Luka, "I'm special."

Torah didn't even glance back, "You would be related through the Guardian's brother. He never had children."

Rai deflated, "Why?"

They walked through a hallway with a decaying carpet littered with shards of glass. The windows only let thin rays of light in through cobwebs.

"Well…" he stopped and looked at a very faded and chipped painting on the wall. The two figures depicted were barely visible. One could only guess the one on the left was male and the one on the right was female.

"They were the first 'pure' Dragonoid and Tigeroid," Torah said, "The Tigeroid lived here with the Guardian. They were good friends."

Phoebe turned to Torah, "Wasn't that unaccepted?"

"Many Dragonoids and Tigeroids were friends, like it had been up until the last few wars."

"What happened to them?"

"No one knows. The Guardian died, and it's thought to be because the Tigeroid betrayed him while he was trying to protect the Chil-heng during the First War."

Jakata gaped at him, "But they were friends…"

"Like I said, no one knows what happened. If that did happen, than why do the Chil-heng still exist in perfect condition? They should be fragile and have lost their abilities by now. Because they're still working, the Guardian is still alive somehow."

Rai looked over, "Wouldn't that make him a few thousand years old?"

"Something like that."

"You can't see the picture at all."

"Nope."

"Then why did you look at it?"

"It sounded like a painting, and it would make sense it would be of the Guardian and the Tigeroid. The vibrations also sound different here. I couldn't tell if it was a hallway or a room. The wall must be thin," he continued down the hallway.

"How do you know so much about it?" Sora asked.

"I've been after the leader for years. I overhead him talking about it when he tried to find the Chil-heng. That was a long time ago," he let the others walk ahead of him, keeping a few steps ahead of Luka, "This is going to be a strange question. How do I talk to Sora? I would ask Donha or Tori, but their sisters are only three and four."

"You should probably get to know her a little better first. If you start speaking to her like she's your sister right away it might scare her a little. I will warn you that she often assumes just about everything ends in death."

Torah nodded and stopped as they came to an open room. The ceiling had long since caved in, leaving chunks scattered across the floor, and interestingly, allowed the moon and starlight to softly light it.

Torah grimaced, "It's too open," Sight patted his shoulder, flicking her tail.

Eowyn looked at Ave, "I can smell at least one other person. It's weird, because it's too weak for one person but it's coming from two areas. They have to be Dolls."

Jakata frowned, "Are you saying I smell?"

"You smell different than all the Dolls I know. So compared to them, yes, but in a nice way."

"Can you tell who they are?"

"You're the only exception. All Dolls smell the same. I can tell one of them has food and another one is really angry."

Sight looked over, flicking her tail. Torah stopped her, "Dolls don't react well to that word."

Luka stepped into the room first, carefully looking all around.

Rai watched, glaring, "But I was Rock… Rock beats Scissors…"

"He wanted to go," Phoebe said.

Luka stared at the corner of the room, taking a step back, hand on his sword.

" _JAKATA!"_

* * *

"He's fine," Jahara said, watching Terra pace around randomly.

"Yanima and Ryong are there," she said, often looking back at the door.

"Luka and Torah will make sure he's safe." That didn't seem to help too much. "Were you ever this worried when he went off on his own before?"

"Yanima wasn't trying to kill him."

"There had to be a few times when Yanima wanted to."

"Sometimes Jakata would get lost and we wouldn't try to find him."

Griffin finally spoke up, "Do you by any chance have separation anxiety, even with the others?"

Terra looked at him, "What?"

Jahara turned to him, "Are you saying…"

Griffin nodded, "It's strange, because…"

* * *

Torah held up his Shield card, having the physical object before him wide enough to help protect himself, Sora, Jakata, Phoebe, and Ave.

Any attacks Luka and Rai couldn't block struck hard against it.

"Why is he so angry?" Jakata asked.

"If you weren't a Doll it would be easier to explain," Torah said.

"What's that supposed to—"

"It's something that only those that are born real can understand," Ave said.

"He understands a lot," Phoebe said.

"Not in this situation."

Phoebe was about to respond when Lita and Dag ran over, making her yelp.

Torah sighed and made Shield a little wider, forcing Jakata's former teammates to take up little room as possible.

"Why is he angry?" Jakata asked.

"I don't know," Lita said, "About a month ago he started to get agitated very easily. Three days ago he started to yell at us for no reason and often lashed out at Terra," she looked around, "We haven't seen her for hours."

"She's on the airship, she's safe."

Lita and Dag glanced at Phoebe and Sora.

"She didn't want to come with us," Phoebe said, "She's scared."

Dag nodded, "So are we."

"Yanima told us to fight you, but you're still our leader," Lita said to Jakata.

"Do you know where the Chil-heng are?" Jakata asked.

"Yanima gave them to the leader."

Shield dropped. Torah glared in Jakata's direction. " _You_ lost them?!"

Yanima glared over at them, his wild gaze directed at Jakata. Ave quickly activated Whip, having the whips coil around Yanima's arms and legs, suspending him off the ground. He glanced at Luka and Rai as they came back, "They're not secure enough to hold him for long," he looked up at where the ends had wrapped around pieces that jutted out of the ceiling.

Yanima didn't struggled, instead glaring at Jakata.

Rai took a step back, "I think he might be rabid."

"Why did you leave us?" Yanima's tone made everyone cringe.

Jakata stared at him, "I—"

"You knew, didn't you?! You were Gherba's favorite, so of course you're the special one."

"Yanima," Lita said, "What are you talking about?"

Yanima didn't seem to notice it was her that asked it, not Jakata, "We're living on borrowed time. The Tigeroids attacked the Luftdrake a few months ago," Lita and Dag were the only ones that didn't look confused by what he was saying, "We're going to die soon." Lita and Dag stared at him, shocked.

Torah sighed, "You _had_ to say one of the words. Yes, Sight, I know he's a Doll, too, but he isn't as sensitive to it."

Whip lost effect and as it did Yanima activated Insect. There were fewer bugs than usual, and as they flew they became deformed, dropping and disappearing as they hit the ground. Yanima activated the card several more times, getting the same result.

"It took a little longer for that to happen against us," Rai said, watching.

Torah activated Shield again, several small protective barriers around everyone appeared at the same time as Yanima switched to another card, Lita's Shell card. The attacks didn't even hit the shields, only imploding before they could hit them, but the force was enough to slowly make everyone start separating into small two to four person groups, so there would be fewer and harder-to-hit targets.

"If we get a little closer I can activate Cage and trap him," Ave said.

"Will that work?" Jakata asked.

"Hopefully it will. It would at least keep him from activating more cards."

They slowly crept closer, making it only three steps before Yanima sent an attack in their direction, those three steps enough for Shell to hit the shield, the impact shattering it and sending Jakata and Ave flying back into a wall.

Jakata yelped, floating, suspended in mid-air, flailing to move around, sit up, _anything_ as the cuffs around this wrists glowed, "Phoebe, help me!" The cuffs abruptly went dim and he fell on Ave, who had just then managed to start sitting up.

Yanima began to slowly stagger towards him, "So you have it, the Togoyu," he was about to activate Shell again when a voice came through his earpiece.

" _Yanima, stop."_

Yanima stiffened, hissing in pain as the voice directed his every move, forcing him to drop his Activator and card as he sat down. Ave activated Cage, having it barely allow room to move around in appear over Yanima, separating him from his Activator. Yanima glared at Jakata as if it were his doing.

Lita looked over, "Do the same for us. We may be ordered to attack you."

Ave complied after Jakata hesitantly nodded, only this time having the cage tall and wide enough to stand and walk around comfortably.

"They'll last for a few hours," Ave said, "We should go while we can."

Yanima watched them leave, "This isn't over, Jakata!"

Rai turned to Ave, "Do Dolls kind of lose it if they're revived? Jakata lost his memory and his team seems to think that we attacked the Luftdrake recently." They walked into another room.

"Jakata is lucky that he even was revived. The reason for their 'memory loss' is because—"

Luka activated Water, hitting something dark that had been flying at them. That something hit the floor and fled.

"Baekho is wet!"

Everyone tensed as Ryong calmly walked into the room from a hallway. Torah glared at him, "I found her. I don't need to pay you now. You threatened her."

"You told me to find her for you."

Sora looked up at Luka, confused. "What is he talking about?"

"I'll explain later.

"You said you wouldn't let anyone else get involve, Leon," Torah said.

Rai looked between them, "What are you talking about? Who's Leon?"

"I can't let you past," Ryong said.

"You're not getting the Togoyu," Torah said, "The Chil-heng can't come together again."

Ryong took out a Tai Chi card, "It doesn't matter."

Rai smirked, "The Time Tai Chi won't work. Ave is immune to it."

Baekho landed on Ryong's shoulder, "Baekho doesn't know about this…"

"It's fine," Ryong said.

"But here?"

"I can control it."

"If Ryong is sure…"

Ryong activated the card. A shockwave went across the ground, digging through the floor and throwing debris. Torah activated Shield, although it did nothing for Ave because he moved a before a barrier could form around him. He didn't get hit directly, although he was knocked back a short distance, awkwardly landing on his right hand, making him yelp sharply.

"Baekho told Ryong not to do it! No! Time won't help!"

Sora watched Ave moving his hand carefully, "Can't you splint it?"

He shook his head, wincing, "Not yet."

"Go back to the airship," Luka said.

"Not yet. You don't know where the Chil-heng are. Where they're kept is a little further," he got up.

Ryong watched, still holding his card. He activated it again as Ave walked towards him, the shockwave missing and lost momentum before it could it the wall.

"Ave—" Sora glared up at Luka when he stopped her.

"He'll be fine."

"But his wrist is broken!"  
"Didn't you ever notice his cards don't necessarily require good aim? It's easy to learn how to learn to do almost anything with your opposite hand."

"What does that mean?"

With his injured hand Ave turned his Activator upside-down and slashed an also upside-down card down it. A cage fell over Ryong.

"He's left-handed. He learned how to do everything with his right hand so enemies wouldn't expect him to be able to fight back if he ever got injured. It's naturally expected anyone who has an Activator is right-handed."

She glared at him, "So I could have had a normal Activator instead of mine."

"Your mother asked me to give it to you."

" _Still._ You could have at least taught me how to use it."

* * *

They followed Ave further into the castle, down a hallway with a cage inside one of the walls.

"Were… people kept there?" Phoebe asked quietly.

"Hybrids," Ave said, "At least the ones that were going to be executed."

"That's cruel," Rai said, not at all bothering to lower his voice.

Something inside the cage moved. Ave motioned for the others to approach slowly. Inside the cage was a young girl with long bronze hair. She wore a simple white dress that was too big for her. She watched them warily, slowly moving back. Her whine sounded closer to animalistic than speech.

Ave frowned, "She's a Doll," everyone turned to him, "I read in that book when a Doll is purposely given more human traits it's basically like a newborn and they can't speak or even walk unless they're taught. I knew the leader was planning a revival, but…"

Jakata crouched in front of the cage.

"You're not thinking of taking her with us, are you?" Rai asked.

"No, and she clearly doesn't trust anyone," Ave said, "I would take her back with me, but—"

Jakata looked up, "If you offer her cookies she'll go with you," he gave the girl another cookie through the bars.

"Well…"

"Take her to the airship," Luka said, "She'll be safer there. Stay there with the others. We can get the Chil-heng."

"If you get into a fight—"

"Is it worth risking permanently injuring your hand? Even if you don't fight and let it go untreated?"

"He's right…" Eowyn said, "We can let everyone else know what happened," she looked over at Jakata,  
"We can take the Togoyu with us."

"How do I get them off?"

"…Or not… Try to stay away from the rest of the Chil-heng if they're all together."

"Why?"

Torah answered, "Because something will happen when all seven are near each other. Why else would the leader want them?"

"Like what?" Rai asked.

"No one knows. The last time they were together was when the Guardian died. That was a few thousand years ago."

"But you said the Guardian could still be alive."

"Then we should hope he's either not around or is against the Rogues."

"The Tai Chi won't become unbalanced again, will they?"

"The Chil-heng could possibly be than the Tai Chi One thousand, so I don't know."

Rai turned to the girl, "Do you know?"

She stared up at him, blinking, tilting her head to one side, "'Ka?"

Torah turned to Ave, "How long will the cages last after you leave?"

"For a while at least."

"We should find the Chil-heng while we can, then."

"They should be in the room up the stairs. All I know is that it's where they're 'supposed' to be. None of the Rogues are allowed in there. If I can I'll come and help." He activated Smoke, disappearing along with the girl.

The hallway let to a room that was open from long-since rotted away floor-to-ceiling doors and a tall once-elegant staircase leading up to a set of doors that had only survived because they were made of stone. Jakata warily approached them, staying behind with the others. He winced, holding his head.

"Jakata?" Phoebe asked.

He smiled weakly, "I'm fine."

Despite the size of the doors they swung open easily. The room was barely lit with an unknown source. In the center was a faded Tai Chi One thousand emblem. Surrounding it were seven eroding dirty-white pedestals, six of them having one of the Chil-heng on top. Against the wall leaned a broken tablet of the Sky and Earth, and toward the front led to a balcony that was visibly questionably safe, and who stood on it was…

He turned, "Hello, _Luka_."

* * *

Ave winced as Miya splinted his hand and wrist. It had been worse than he thought, but at least it would heal.

Terra had stopped nervously pacing, much more relaxed now that she knew Jakata was okay and Yanima couldn't find her.

"You're not worried someone will be protecting the Chil-heng?" Jahara asked.

"Not really. The leader never leaves his room, and Ryong and Jakata's team are the only real threats."

"What about the rest of the Rogues?"

Ave looked away, "…They were needed for the revival."

Jahara twitched, "So they only need to bring the Chil-heng back and defeat the leader."

"It depends on whether or not the Guardian is somehow still alive, and if he sided with the Rogues. He could even be forced to help."

"How will they know it's him if the Chil-heng react to Jakata?"

The girl looked up, confused and glance around, "Mi'ka? Mi'ka?"

Terra watched her, "Mi'ka isn't here right now. They'll find him."

Jahara turned to the girl, "Is Mi'ka your friend?"

The girl turned to her, "Miska?"

Jahara froze _. No… she couldn't mean…_

* * *

"Torah, _help!_ " Rai dodged another Hit attack.

Torah stood off to the side, leaning against the wall, listening to the basically one-sided fight –"sparring match?"— against Mishka. The Sight Tai Chi had lost effect a while ago. "He's not even trying, Rai. You attacked first. He's only defending himself."

Luka stood in front of the others, Activator and Pierce card in hand. Sora had her Negate card out, having it create a transparent dome over those near.

Rai glared at Mishka as he retreated backwards, "How is he even alive?"

Mishka put the card away and walked to the center of the emblem, "This is where the Chil-heng were kept," an emotion briefly flickered over his face, "And where the Guardian and his friend died."

Rai glared at him, "You're not getting the last one. I need it."

"You can't use _them_ if Jakata can't even remove them."

"You won't be able to use them, either."

"Unless he becomes dormant again."

Jakata yelped and backed away.

Torah looked over, "I wouldn't do that," he nodded in agreement with Sight, "Listen to her."

Luka took a step forward, "Why do you want the Chil-heng?" Something about the way Mishka stared at him and spoke to him was… off.

"I don't need to tell you," he looked over at Jakata, "You want the rest of them, don't you?"

"I'm not giving you the Togoyu in exchange. Rai has tricked me before with two cookies for one. He takes mine instead."

"I was trying to teach you a lesson!"

"You're a bad teacher."

"He's worse than I am!"

Jakata looked at Luka, "Is he that bad?"

Luka slowly nodded, watching his former best friend. He still wasn't sure exactly how Mishka came back, but shouldn't an enemy be at least more alert around him?

Jakata glanced over, "Yeah, I'm not giving them to you."

"You can have the rest of the Chil-heng when I'm finished with them."

Rai slowly turned to Luka, "He doesn't sound like he's lying and trying to manipulate us."

Phoebe frowned, "He still threatened Jakata."

"He didn't act on it."

"Yet."

"Fine," Jakata said, getting everyone to stare at him, "But only if you know how to get them off."

"They're not meant to come off that easily," he played with the Gumgoyu, causing armor to appear and disappear over his arm, "A Hybrid is present," he looked over at them and at Torah.

"I knew it," Sora said, "He's trying to get everyone to turn against me and Rai. If we die the cuffs will loosen, or he's just trying to get one of us to get the Tai Chi One thousand," she gasped and turned to Rai, _"He's trying to get rid of us. He doesn't know how the cuffs work."_

Rai glared over, "I'm the Tai Chi King, _not you_. I know you'd like to be powerful and all, but…" his voice trailed off, "…You don't know what I'm talking about…"

"I don't need to become Tai Chi King," he said, glancing over at the Chil-heng. He stared at the Togoyu's empty pedestal. He looked at Jakata, "If the Hybrids leave the Togoyu will come off. They can come back after."

"They're not leaving."

Mishka frowned, "And why not? If you want the Chil-heng…"

"You could be lying. You can't get the Togoyu that easily."

Mishka took a card out, "This is what killed you the first time." The card was the Return card.

Phoebe froze and looked up at Luka, "Luka…"

Jakata stared at the card for a moment, "Uh… we fight and winner gets the Togoyu?"

"Your friends can't be involved."

Luka glanced at Jakata, "Let me fight him."

"You don't have the Togoyu."

"I won't get killed by that card."

"Good point."

"Jakata has to fight," Mishka said, "One card each."

Rai frowned, "But that will mean you'll use to Return card!"

"I don't have to," he got another card out.

"First one who can't get up loses," Jakata activated Heat and burst forward.

Mishka activated Hit. The attack sent Jakata flying back into the wall, leaving a good-sized indentation in it. Jakata fell to the floor, stunned. Torah stood only half a meter away, unfazed, staring in Jakata's direction.

"Tie would have been a better choice."

Jakata managed to sit up, "I demand a rematch."

"The result will be the same," Mishka said.

"No it won't. We'll use different cards."

Luka glanced at Sora, "Get ready to activate Negate."

Sora shook her head, "It won't work…"

Luka turned to her, "What?"

Mishka activated a card and the character for Return appeared on Jakata's chest, causing his body to glow.

" _No!"_ Phoebe ran toward him.

"Ave said it wouldn't work…" Sora said, looking away, "I don't know if it's because I don't have enough knowledge about it or if it's because he said that…"

Rai was about to comment when Luka's glare made him think about what he was going to say –twice- and decided against it.

Phoebe hugged Jakata, sobbing. Jakata awkwardly held her. The glow faded, tiny embers floating around them. After a few seconds Jakata frowned, "Phoebe, am I dead? I don't feel dead. Is death supposed to feel like real life?"

Phoebe looked up at him.

Mishka stared, looking like he didn't understand, confused, maybe even a little disturbed, "That's…" he took a few steps back, _"Why?"_

Rai turned to Luka, "I thought Return was a death card for Dolls."

Mishka looked down at the emblem and then up at Jakata, smiling. He took a few more steps back, until he was at the edge.

Phoebe nodded response to Jakata telling her to go back to the others and as she did Mishka activated his Hit Tai Chi. The attack threw Phoebe against the wall.

Jakata shook her, "Phoebe!" She wasn't moving or waking up… He didn't notice as the others ran over, not making it when Luka blocked them. Jakata turned, glaring at Mishka, instantly going into Dragonoid state. He activated Heat and burst forward.

Mishka smirked and pulled out a card. The Switch character activated and then lost effect.

"Is she okay?" Rai asked. He cringed when he heard a crash behind them.

Luka checked Phoebe's pulse and slowly breathed out, "We'll have to wait. Sora, she's alive, you can stop crying now."

Rai slowly turned, watching the one-sided fight, "This is worse than when Mishka knocked out Sena and Finn got mad…"

Mishka barely managed to dodge another attack and got out another card, glancing at it and then at Jakata. He activated it. The Hideous character flashed on Jakata's chest and disappeared, useless. The next attack sent him crashing into the wall again. He activated Move before Jakata could attack him again, the Tai Chi sending him to the other side of the room, only for him to find out Jakata had anticipated it and turned around, attacking him.

Phoebe winced and blinked a few times, "What happened?"

Luka helped her sit up, "You were knocked out. Jakata is fighting Mishka," behind him Mishka went flying past into the wall, "Jakata lost control."

Mishka managed to sit up against the wall, freezing when he saw Jakata flying at him.

Phoebe stood up, "Jakata, _stop!_ "

Jakata veered away, crashing into the wall a short distanced away from Mishka, who was very pale.

Jakata looked at Phoebe, shocked.

Phoebe took a few steps forward, "That's enough."

Jakata ran to her and hugged her, beginning to cry.

Luka walked over to Mishka, "Do you still want the Togoyu?"

Mishka slowly shook his head.

"Are you ever going to use anyone as a pawn again?"

Mishka shook his head.

"Are you grateful to Phoebe you're still alive?"

He nodded.

"Will you apologize to Jahara and Ave for using the Hideous Tai Chi on them?"

Mishka looked up at him, "Who?" Not only did it look like he didn't recognize the names, but he didn't even fully recognize Luka. He looked back, "He could have killed me the first time…"

He looked back "He tried to eight years ago. Back then he had little control over if he would have let you live or not. At any time during this fight he could have easily killed you, but he still held back, even after losing control. He may not be real, but sometimes he's more human than some of us will ever be," he looked back, "True strength comes from knowing when to stop. It's over, all right?"

Mishka nodded and accepted the offer for helping him get up. A Tai Chi character appeared on his chest for a second, causing to him to glow and cry out in pain.

It had been the Marionette character…

Doors opened behind them. Sight hissed.

"It failed, again."

Torah glared at the owner of the voice.

Luka turned. No… it couldn't be…

Mishka hid behind Luka, his voice small, "Iseul…"

* * *

 **Next week is the last chapter.**

 **Some of Luka's dialogue in this chapter is what inspired the name for Human. I didn't know what to call it at first, and as I was pre-writing one of the scenes he said something I didn't expect, and that gave me the name. In one of my other stories he said something that I felt was out-of-place and it took two years to finally figure out what he meant and I built a mini-subplot off of it.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Plasma57: That will be answered in this chapter.**

 **This is it, the last one! It's been over two years since I first started writing this in February 2014. I feel like I could have done so much more with this, but I'm still happy with how it turned out. It taught me how to write by small and major deadlines and I found an outline type that I really like.**

 **The Rogues, Jakata's team, Iseul, Shirona, Ryong, Baekho, Torah, Sight, Ave and Eowyn were never in the original version of Human. It was basically "collect the Chil-heng and defeat Mishka". Ryong was added because he's a character in a future fanfiction (which is not the sequel). Torah was added because I wanted to give Sora a pure Tigeroid half-brother. Iseul was added because the Rogues needed a leader. Ave and Eowyn were added because I thought "what would Ave be like now after he grew up on earth?" and that I needed a dragon to contrast Baekho.**

 **The idea for Human is credited to Kimiko Heroux when she innocently commented "Maybe Jakata would have to rely on Phoebe to get his memories back" when I was talking to her about the Jakata x Phoebe oneshot I posted in late February 2014. The very first scene was the thought of Phoebe and Jakata standing on the airship's deck watching the ground pass below.**

 **Within the last few days before posting this I had two new ideas and decided to add them in.**

 **I originally was never going to write this, but I'm glad I did.**

* * *

If Sora had to describe Iseul, it would be he looked like a much older and scarier version of Luka that found smiling to be painful. She could understand Mishka's fear of him. His Activator was of an older generation, even older than her own, before the colors and subtle design differences had ever been introduced. Normally she would have guessed he was a Tigeroid, because his eyes were lit with the Sight Tai Chi, but that assumption felt very wrong.

Iseul glanced in Sora's direction and then over at Phoebe and Jakata, the action making Luka tense.

"Even with Hybrids present you couldn't get the Chil-heng to react properly." Mishka moved back. Iseul turned to Torah, "You're still alive?"

"I could say the same about you."

"You have the perfect reason to use the Sight Tai Chi and yet you do not. Why?"

"Because unlike you after we stole each other's vision I didn't have to rely on the Tai Chi to continue this crazed plan."

"I'm only saving Suhn and preventing pointless death," he glared in Mishka's direction and activated the Marionette Tai Chi again, longer this time.

Torah shouted above Mishka's screaming, "Dolls can't be brought back if you kill one like that!"

A transparent dome appeared around Mishka, canceling out Marionette. Iseul stared in Mishka's direction for a moment, "Negate. The same card I gave to a friend a long time ago. You received it from his son, didn't you?"

Sora froze, glancing at Luka. _Ave's card used to belong to this scary man?_

Torah activated Claw, "If you want to prevent death, than why did you let your friend and his family die? Why have you yourself caused so much of it?" He slowly circled around the room, listening for Sight to tell him where he wanted to be.

"Dolls are different from us."

Torah stopped in front of Luka, glancing back as Iseul spoke, keeping his voice slow so the one he hated couldn't hear, "Take everyone somewhere safe. If I don't come back in five minutes get Mishka away from here. Send him away with the Time Tai Chi, anywhere so Iseul can't find him. _Go,_ " his tone and expression warned against argument. Luka took Mishka's Move card and activated it, taking himself and the others to the entrance of the castle.

Rai frowned, "I was about to fight him."

Luka gave the card back to Mishka and got up, "Jakata, keep them safe."

"You're going back?" Sora asked, "Why?"

"Torah doesn't know how powerful Iseul is."

Sora slowly shook her head, "You're not fighting him alone. The last time you did that and the rest of us went on ahead you almost died."

"I was only knocked out."

"You could still have been killed while you were knocked out."

"Barugu knew how I fought. Iseul doesn't."

"Still, he could have killed you." Back then, those eight years ago, before they fought Mishka to get the Tai Chi One thousand back, Luka had fought his mentor that trained him to be one of the Royal Guard. Luka had lost. Sora wasn't sure if he could even remember how he had lost. She had asked, but all he said was "he had been knocked unconscious and Laura saved him".

"Even with the Sight Tai Chi Iseul won't know where my attacks are."

Sora looked down, "Torah told me Iseul can see a lot more detail than he can. When Torah sees us, he sees us, our clothes and hair as something whole. He said Iseul can tell the difference."

Rai turned to Luka, "I'm coming to help."

"Torah said to send Mishka to a safer time. Ryong can easily find him again," Luka said, "You're allowed to activate Chaos and take him to an alternate world."

"I'm not saving the enemy!"

Sora turned to him, "It's either saving the minor enemy from the really scary major enemy—"

"And getting slapped by Ara."

"Or letting the really scary major enemy use the minor enemy to conquer… whatever he's trying to conquer and do what he wants."

"And get beat up by Ara," he frowned at Luka, "You owe me."

"You owe Luka. This could be in exchange for Ara punishing you."

"Until she slaps me."

"She doesn't have to know.

Rai gave Luka his Explosion card, "I want it back."

Luka left them, going back.

* * *

Torah laid against the wall, unconscious, his Activator and several cards laying scattered away from him. The only thing that told Luka Torah was still alive was Sight staying near, worried, but not grieving.

Iseul sighed, "You sent them away."

"Why did you leave us?" Luka asked.

"Shirona didn't understand. If there were only Hybrids, there would no longer be pointless war and death over the Tai Chi One thousand. Suhn would be peaceful," he looked over at the Chil-heng, "That's why I need the Guardian. With the Chil-heng, I can rewrite part of history, ensuring only the Sky-Earth clan exists," he sighed, "Of course a complication came up with the Doll."

"Why is Mishka involved with this?"

"I thought it was the one I needed. The Chil-heng only reacted that way because the Guardian was near them and Hybrids were present."

"Even if you bring Mishka back here he won't listen to you. He doesn't trust you."

"It doesn't trust anyone. It betrayed the one it loved. It doesn't know the girl was killed as a reward for trapping it."

 _What?_

Luka got his activator and a card out, "I'm one of the few he trusted."

Iseul looked in his direction for a moment, "…You're the one it stayed with after it escaped the first time. It chose someone to bond to. That was you, wasn't it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"All those years ago I revived the Chil-heng's Guardian in a Doll form so I could easily control it. That Doll escaped and found you. That Doll is Mishka."

* * *

"They should have been back by now…" Terra rested her chin on her folded arms.

"They might be coming back right now," Tori said.

Jahara turned to Ave, "Are you sure you don't know anything about the leader?"

"No. Roman said the name would be on the book about the Chil-heng and Dolls, which is strange because it didn't match the language. It was written in your native language."

Jahara twitched, "Iseul?"

Ave nodded, "…That name has a very uncomfortable meaning to you, doesn't it?"

The others looked up.

"Is he the one that Dad… Aidan… doesn't like?" Miya asked, "The one that led to the twins' family's deaths?"

Jahara nodded, "Iseul was the one that kidnapped Aidan's sister. …. I doubt Luka told Sora or Phoebe yet, if he ever will…"

"Told them what?" Donha asked.

Jahara hesitated, "Iseul is their father."

* * *

Luka ducked out of the way of a steel ball and chain, unable to activate his card before having to evade a blast of water. Even if he could only get his Destruction card to destroy the chain or his steam card to evaporate Water, it would help. If he could, he would be tempted to use the Chil-heng as a shield because Iseul wouldn't risk them getting damaged, but a semi-transparent barrier guarded them. He wasn't sure if it had appeared because Mishka wasn't close to them or if the fight had triggered it to keep them safe.

There was, at least, one advantage to not using cards: Heavy use of the Tai Chi was very draining and couldn't be done for long periods of time. Once the attacks slowed even a little he would be able to fight back.

A steel ball embedded itself into the wall in front of him and blasts of water twisted together to form what resembled a three-headed dragon rushed at him.

* * *

"Why are we going back?" Sora asked, "You have the Time and Chaos Tai Chi with you."

"I'm hoping Finn left Mirror behind," Rai said, "It works well."

Sora glared at him, "Be careful this time."

"I'm always careful."

Mishka quietly followed them, occasionally stopping and looking back.

Phoebe took a few quick steps to match Rai's pace, "If we bring Miskha onto the airship…"

"We can either have Jakata use Tie to make it look like we took him hostage or I can get the card myself."

"You don't even know if Finn did leave Mirror."

"It's the only way to make Chaos really effective."

"Rai?" Sora said.

Rai continued, ignoring her, "We could try to use a real mirror, but that might not work."

" _Rai,"_ Sora said.

"Griffin will know what to do. He always does. Anyway, maybe Chaos and Time could work together…"

" _Rai!"_

" _What?!"_ Rai glared at her, "I'm thinking of an ingenious plan!"

"We have a situation."

"Yeah, I know. I'm not fighting Iseul and Ara is going to beat me up. Hey, where did Jakata and Mishka go?"

* * *

Luka leaned against the wall, keeping his weight off of one leg. He held the Explosion card, "Where are the other Rogues?"

"I didn't need them anymore. They were only Dolls."

"You—"

"I needed them for a project."

 _One of the reasons Dolls had been outlawed was because they were created solely for attempts at revivals…_ "...You used them to revive Mishka…"

"I used Dolls the first time, yes."

"And what about the one real one? Kyu?"

"The one that sometimes pretended to be a Dragonoid? He might have been present for the project."

Luka glanced over as Torah groaned. "Do you remember the Tigeroid you kidnapped? Sena?"

"Aidan's sister? She was against the war and didn't seem opposed to the idea of Hybrids."

That had been true…

Iseul looked back, "I suppose by now they're far away. The Doll is required for the Chil-heng to even work."

"I told them to leave."

"Without you? No, at least one of them has a teleportation class Tai Chi and can easily come and get you," he got a card out, "Like Mishka." He activated the card at the same time Luka activated his. Both Explosions were in the form of beams and twisted around each other, hitting their intended targets. The impact made Luka temporarily black out. He laid against the wall, hurting everywhere.

He tried getting up and cried out, lying back down, pressing one hand against his side, trying to stop the gash from bleeding, trying to stop the blood from slowly pooling around him. His other arm and one leg were bent at unnatural angles. He carefully and finally managed to sit up, leaning against the wall, coughing up blood.

Darkness ate away at his vision. _Not now. He could pass out later, but not now._ Iseul still stood, moving one arm carefully and keeping his weight off of one leg. He activated Water. The attack stopped in midair and dissolved. Mishka stood at the other side of the room, holding his Stop Tai Chi.

Iseul smiled, "Dolls are unable to disobey their creators." Luka tensed. Iseul turned to Mishka, "Send him and the other Tigeroid away."

Mishka turned to Luka and activated Move, moving him to the other side of the room. Torah and Sight were sent somewhere else.

Iseul frowned and activated Water. Mishka picked up the Gumgoyu. Armor encased him, protecting him from the attack. He removed the weights from the Sugoyu. Both sides began to tip back and forth. Iseul leaned heavily against the wall and slowly sat down. The Hwagoyu's symbol began to glow, casting light on the mirror as it played a light nostalgic tune, along with the Ponggoyu chiming lightly.

Mishka picked up the Mokgoyu, the tiny symbol glowing. Iseul slowly relaxed, still staring at the illusion as Mishka went to Luka with the Sengoyu. Mishka crouched next to him, holding it out. The item pulsed softly, the energy ebbing at the bleeding cut. Luka gritted his teeth, feeling the injury healing rapidly. "Don't fix anything else."

Mishka sat back, "I wasn't going to. It hurts too much." He took the Sengoyu back.

Jakata warily peeked into the room, "Is it safe?" he walked over to Mishka, "So you'll just bring Mari back and I can take the Chil-heng, right?"

Luka stared. _What?_

Mishka pressed the bottoms of the cuffs and they clicked open.

Jakata blinked, "…That's how they come off…?"

"Basically," Mishka took the cuffs and went to the rest of the Chil-heng, placing the Togoyu on the empty pedestal.

"Jakata!" Rai ran into the room, followed by Phoebe, "Why—"

Sora ran in and stared at the Chil-heng, "They're all together… we're going to die. The world will end."

"It would have ended when they were together the first time."

"Oh yeah."

Mishka looked around at the Chil-heng and emblem, confused. Each symbol on the Chil-heng pulsed softly. He looked over at the broken tablet.

Iseul watched, frowning. He looked over at Jakata and smiled.

Luka tried calling out in warning, instead only coughing. Iseul activated Water again, using it in a hook shot to throw Jakata over to the Chil-heng. The instant Jakata stepped on the emblem it and the Chil-heng's symbols glowed brightly. A thin transparent barrier formed over the emblem and Chil-heng, trapping Jakata and Mishka inside.

Luka closed his eyes. _It was over… Iseul had succeeded…_

"So where's the time portal thingy?" Rai asked, "Jakata didn't explain it very well."

Luka stared at him and then looked over. Nothing had happened.

Iseul frowned, "It should have opened by now… He has to be threatened," he was about to activate another card when ice froze his wrist to the wall and encased his Activator.

"It didn't work because nothing actually happens when the Chil-heng are together," Ara walked over, tossing a small cube in inscribed with the Tai Chi One thousand in one hand.

Rai stared, "Ara? Than the ice must have been…." He looked so see where Ara had come from, "Sena!" He ran to her, completely ignoring Finn, who stayed near her. Rai hugged her, tearing up, "I'm sorry I set your hair on fire." He took a step back, only for Sena to slap him across the face. "Ow! What was that for?!"

Sena glared at him, "You said _what_ to Ara?"

"What? Oh," he turned to Ara and waved, "Hi Ara," he turned back, "There. I said it."

Sena sighed, "You said 'you weren't even married yet'."

Rai heard Luka sigh his name and turned around, "Was that a bad choice of words?"

"Yes," Sena said, "You never tell a girl that."

Rai turned back to Ara, "So what's the cube for?"

Ara sighed, "This is what was used to take the Tai Chi away from anyone that became Tai Chi King. It's technically the eighth Chil-heng."

"So if I'm not Tai Chi King anymore how come the Chil-heng were reacting?"

"The Chil-heng only react to the Guardian, especially if he or she is distressed. Each one was found because it reacted to either or both Mishka or Jakata depending on which one felt threatened."

"So then why were the Chil-heng created?"

"To control the Sky-Earth clan. Nature and the Tai Chi One thousand are closely linked, so when the Time Tai Chi sensed there could be those that would try for total control, nature took over and 'corrected' itself, resulting in only those of the Sky or Earth clan being born. After the first Tai Chi King the Hybrid Law was created, and so were the Chil-heng, where were meant to be used until the rest of the clan died off," Ara looked over at the broken tablet and continued.

"If nature or the Tai Chi One thousand wouldn't have intervened the Sky-Earth clan would have eventually had those who would have become Tai Chi King and lost control, resulting in the destruction of the world and possibly universe," she turned to Iseul, "Which would have been a lot worse than pointless war and death. Sure, it would have finally ended in peace, but no one would be around anymore."

He looked away, "All of this was for nothing then…"

"Basically. It will be better if you give up now. You're a very bad man. You broke many of our laws."

Iseul only nodded.

The barrier surrounding the Chil-heng dropped. Phoebe ran to Jakata and hugged him.

Ara sighed, "So," she turned to Rai, "Do we move the Chil-heng or do I punish you for helping Mishka first? Your choice."

"But… no…" he frowned, "What took you so long to find us?!"

"We were freeing the prisoners and explaining the situation to Jahara," she looked over at the doors, "You can come out now."

Rai turned and stared, "Mom!" he ran over.

Jakata turned to Phoebe, "Who is that?"

"Rai's mother… and technically your mom," she looked back and within those few seconds Rai had stopped hugging his mom and was arguing with Ara, at least until she pointed into the other room, which surprised him.

" _Dad?!"_

Laura allowed him to run past and walked over to Luka, speaking with him.

Phoebe looked up at Jakata, "Do you want to talk to her?"

"Is it okay for me to?"

Phoebe nodded and pulled him along, "She's really nice."

"But…" he went silent and avoided eye contact when they got closer.

Laura smiled in greeting, "You must be Jakata."

Jakata nodded, still looking away.

"Luva told me everything, and I've already met Terra. Both of you can come and live with use if you would like."

Jakata glanced at her, "…And Lita, Dag and Yanima?"

Laura nodded, "Of course. Rai won't admit it but he wants his brothers and sisters around."

Jakata blinked a few times, "I… I can call you Mom?"

* * *

Jahara looked up as Griffin, Miya and Ave came back, "How are they doing?"

"As long as Close stays in effect he'll be fine," Miya said, "But it will take him a long time to recover." Everyone had been badly startled when Torah had just suddenly appeared. They could only guess someone had sent him there by using a Move Tai Chi.

"And the girls?"

Griffin sat across from her, "Being Dolls they'll have separation anxiety until who they bonded with come back. So it's best to distract them."

"Elita isn't too happy she has to help, is she?"

"No. Let's just hope Terra doesn't decide to dress her up."

Eowyn shuddered, "I can understand that. Make-up doesn't wash out easily," she laid across Ave's shoulders, gently slapping him with her tail when he attempted adjusting the temporarily sling supporting his arm –it wasn't injured, but it did help reduce the pain going from his wrist to his elbow.

Jahara's Communicator beeped. She lifted the cover, "Luka?"

" _The fight is over,"_ he looked and sounded like he was in a lot of pain.

"That's good."

Miya hugged Ave and after what felt like an awkwardly long amount of time she let go, her face almost as red as his. She shuffled over to Jahara's side.

" _We'll need to go to a healer,"_ he winced.

Miya nodded, "Good idea. I'm not good with treating ribs. It sounds like you broke a few."

Jahara turned to her, "What?"

Luka nodded weakly and glared at Jakata, who leaned in and waved. Luka pushed Jakata's face out of the way.

" _Jakata!"_ Phoebe's voice came from somewhere far away.

"Ave said he used Cage on Ryong and the other Dolls," Jahara said, "Are we going to bring them with us?"

Sora's voice came through the speakers, _"We're not all going to fit even if the airship could move. That's like, twenty-four of us. No, Rai, you're not going to drive a Dragonoid airship."_

" _I can drive! Ara, you distracted me! I didn't see the telephone pole!"_

"The Rogues have …had… a Dragonoid airship," Ave said, "And it can hold a Tigeroid airship."

 _Rai glared into the screen, much to Luka's annoyance, "How are we going to move it? Wait, Ave has Move and Smoke."_

"I never moved anything this big before!"

" _You said you could earlier. It's either that or bring the Dragonoid airship there and if it's that I_ will _drive it," he yelped when he was pulled away._

Ave sighed, "Fine. Give me two minutes."

Jahara turned back to the Communicator, "We'll see you soon."

* * *

Mishka closed the device.

"Do you know where the airship is?" Luka asked.

Mishka nodded and activated the Tai Chi, teleporting everyone –including the Chil-heng and those caged- to an open room inside of the airship that was used to hold and restrain the smaller and, formerly, enemy airships. He leaned against the wall and fell asleep.

Finn led Sena closer to the wall and activated Ice to push the cages against it and to, once again, restrain Iseul. The others came over, Jakata, Sora and Phoebe carrying the Chil-heng. Ara dragged Rai over.

The Tigeroid airship winked into existence, taking up most of the room. Ave and Miya stood on the deck. Miya helped support Ave when he started to tip over from dizziness and exhaustion. They both very slowly sank down.

" _Luka!"_ Jahara ran down the stairs and, after stopping and staring at Mishka warily for a second or two, went to Luka, carefully holding him, "Just rest."

 _Okay._ He let the darkness overwhelm him.

* * *

When he woke he was laying on a bed in an unfamiliar room.

"Luka?" Jahara watched him, sitting in a chair at his bedside, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," he attempted to sit up. Jahara helped him by setting up the pillows for him to lean against, "How long have I been out?"

"About three days. Mishka woke up a few hours ago, and the healers said Torah will probably still be unconscious for a while."

"Iseul?"

"He's been awake most of the time. He's going to be arrested later today for crimes involving kidnapping Laura, creating and murdering over a thousand Dolls and for the murders and attempted murders of about twenty others, not including us, along with revivals. It was agreed to let him recover before taking him away, and it would be best for that to happen today because Aidan and his family and my brothers are coming here tonight."

"What about Gherba?"

"He's going to stay here for a little while. And because he only created six Dolls and that was under Diga's command, he isn't going to get a severe punishment. Laura decided his punishment because she is the princess and she's married to him. He has to teach Rai how to control the Tai Chi King powers and train Jakata."

Luka grimaced, "That's still harsh… How are the others doing?"

"Ave's wrist and hand are badly damaged, but they'll heal completely. Everyone else is fine otherwise. Except Yanima. He's so mentally unstable he's locked up."

One of the healers' assistants came in then, "Lai –Rai?— asked if he and the others could come in and talk."

Luka nodded, "That's fine."

Jahara turned to her, "How is the girl we brought with us? Has she remembered anything?"

"Mari? No, but Mishka asked if she could stay with him until he's recovered enough to leave. She's so attached to him…"

Luka blinked, "Mari?"

"That's what Mishka said her name is."

Jahara smiled and nodded, "She can stay. Oh, and can you let Rai and the others know to come in about ten minutes? We have to talk about something."

She nodded and left.

Luka looked up at her, "Did the healer say something? About why you've been getting sick?"

Jahara nodded, "Do you promise not to faint again? Good. I'm pregnant."

He slowly blinked his eyes open. _What was he doing on the floor?_

Jahara stared down at him, disappointed, "You promised…" She helped him get back onto the bed.

Luka gave her a one-arm hug, "How far are you?"

"The healer thinks about nine or ten weeks," she smiled, "So it's the baby that doesn't like Jakata's cooking."

"Brave barely tasted what Jakata made and he cried. How did we not know?"

"We've all been stressed and high stress levels can mimic pregnancy symptoms, or at least that's what Ave said. I got sick again this morning and he asked. He actually had a few suspicions for the last two weeks but didn't say anything because it could have just been a lot of stress."

"Miya didn't know?"

"There were only a couple of free Tigeroids born during the war and Miya was too young to remember. Ave's adoptive parents have three-year-old twins."

"When are you going to tell everyone else?"

"When you're not around," she patted his shoulder gently, "You don't need to faint twice in ten minutes."

Luka nodded, smiling weakly.

"I think it's a boy."

"That's what you said about Yuna."

"This time feels different."

Phoebe came in, followed by Jakata and Yuna, "The others will be here in a bit. Rai and Ara are competing and everyone is there to keep the peace." Yuna went to hug Luka.

Jahara turned to Jakata, "Where are Terra, Lita and Dag?"

"Talking to Gherba. He's going to try talking to Yanima later. I told him Rai said Yanima is rabid."

"Rai might have been exaggerating…"

Everyone else started to come in. Rai and Ara were, not surprisingly, arguing. The last two to come in were Ave and Miya. Ave carried Miya on his back, using his good arm to support her. He helped her into a chair.

Jahara frowned, "You still can't walk?"

"Only a few shaky steps," Miya said, "I have overdone it a bit lately."

"I'll take her to see my parents in a day or two," Ave said, "Aidan and your father should know about it, too."

"Yeah," Rai said, turning to Sena, "Why didn't you tell us you were going to fake your death?" Finn cringed.

Ara answered, "They would have suspected if none of us were worried. I told Finn before he could kill me."

Rai gaped at Finn. He turned back, "But one of us could have done it."

" _You_ would have found some way to mess it up and everyone else would have either told someone or, if it would have been Jahara, Luka would have gone beyond insane. If it was Finn we would have known it was a fake death."

"But if we would have told Sena's family…"

Sena smiled, "The dead tree was Hannah's idea."

"So then no one else knew?"

"Ave did," Ara said, "And Terra."

"Terra?" Rai stared, "Why Terra?"

"During the fight I asked her if she could get us onto their airship. She didn't want to because of Yanima, and they couldn't leave anyway without the Chil-heng."

"But she betrayed us."

"That was part of the plan. After she told me we still had one of them I got her to look like she stole the ones we had."

"How?"

"If she helped us she could stay on our airship so Yanima couldn't kill her. Oh yeah," she turned to Luka, "You owe her a nice dinner and a hug."

"Is that why she asked for a date?"

"Yes. It was the only way to get her to agree."

Luka sighed, "You couldn't have just told her I would like it if she helped?"

"It's more fun to annoy you," she looked over at the doorway as Baekho glided just outside of it.

Baekho bowed, "Ryong and Baekho are very, very, very sorry. Ryong would like to speak with you later when it's safe after Iseul has been arrested. He wants to say why he betrayed you," he flew away.

"Wait…" Rai turned to everyone, "Iseul can use the Sight Tai Chi, right? How can he use it without a Reverse card?"

"He's part Tigeroid," Ave said, glancing at Luka, who nodded, "But just barely, only enough to allow him to use a non-combat Tigeroid card. It is impressive the extent he can use it, being more skilled than a pure Tigeroid like Torah."

"Does that mean we're part Tigeroid, too?" Phoebe asked.

"Well, yes, but it's so minuscule it wouldn't matter. There really isn't such thing as a 'pure' Tigeroid or Dragonoid. Everyone is related to a Hybrid at some point."

* * *

"Lucius Malfoy," Ave said.

"Thranduil," Ara said. They watched as several of the palace guard took Iseul away. Ara turned to Ave, "Does this mean we're comparing Luka to Legolas?" She shrugged, "In a fight Legolas would win. And it is a lot better than being referred to Draco." She sighed, "Fun's over. Now we have to talk to Ryong."

They went to join the others.

"He owes you chocolate, doesn't he?"

"Because it's his fault, yes."

" _What's_ his fault?"

"I'll come up with something."

* * *

Ryong stood outside of the door, despite having been invited to come in, petting Baekho. He looked a little worried, "How's your hand?" he asked Ave.

"It will heal."

Rai frowned, "Why are you so concerned, anyway?"

Ryong took his Time card out, "I'm sure by now Onii- Ave has told you I'm not from this time. In my time Ave's hand isn't injured."

"So you gave up because you couldn't risk changing the future," Luka said.

Ryong nodded, "I came here to get the Sengoyu."

Rai stared, "But it only affects Dolls."

"No, actually. I don't know why it turns them human. It heals any non-fatal injury or sickness," he turned to Finn, "Finn knew since Jakata got hit."

Rai turned to Finn, "How?"

"We don't bleed."

"Oh. That would explain a lot."

"Why do you want it?" Jakata asked. "And why did you try to kill me?"

"Forcing you to lose control was the only way I thought you would be able to find it. I didn't know the Rogues already had it. I want it because the girl I love is very sick. I only need it for a short amount of time."

"Why didn't you find the one in your time?"

"You'll know why later on."

"I'll talk to Mishka about it," Luka said.

Ryong relaxed, "Thank you."

Jahara looked over, picking up Yuna to prevent her from stealing Rai's Activator. She turned to Ryong, "… You left the beat up Activator…"

"I repaired it and left it for Phoebe. I didn't expect Yuna would find it first. I would have given it to her directly, but that would have caused a few complications and questions."

Rai looked over, "Why did Torah keep calling you Leon? If you're not from this time then how old are you in this one?"

"I use a lot of false names. So I used a common one from earth," he glanced at Ave, who shook his head, "I… can't tell you my age in this time."

"Okay, then. So, about this girl you like?" He immediately received disapproving glares from everyone else.

Luka turned to everyone, "I need to ask Ryong something. Go on and talk to Gherba if he's ready to."

Everyone nodded and slowly left, Ryong stood aside to let them leave.

Luka turned to him, "You knew about the Life Tai Chi."

"Who do you think left it there?"

* * *

Luva smiled in greeting as everyone came in, at the moment being halfway through eating a small bowl of pudding. Because of his relation to Laura he got one of the larger rooms like Luka. Jahara held her Communicator, allowing Luka to join in on the conversation if he wanted to.

Jakata looked around, "Where are they?"

"They're getting food and relaxing," Luva said, "The healers can't even get near Yanima…"

"Why is he rabid?" Rai asked.

Luva didn't answer at first, glancing at Finn and Jakata, "On average Dolls don't live that long. In the last few weeks or so they become unstable."

"…How long do we have left?" Jakata asked.

"Lita and Dag have about three months left. Terra has about a year, I think."

"And Yanima?"

Luva hesitated, "Tomorrow."

Jakata flinched.

Phoebe took a step forward, "What about Jakata?"

"If you asked me eight years ago I would have said two years. I don't know now because he bonded with you," he turned to Sena, "It's the same with Finn."

Luka's voice came through the Communicator, _"Is that how Iseul knew about Mishka?"_

"Yes. I didn't tell him Dolls can't be forced to listen to their creator if they bonded with someone. At first I didn't know Jakata bonded with Phoebe," he slowly shook his head, "I thought out of anyone you would be the one Terra would choose."

Rai blinked, "Terra bonded with someone? When?"

"A few days ago. I don't know who. I didn't know with Jakata and Finn at first, either."

"Is that what saved Jakata?" Phoebe asked, "Mishka activated Return on him."

"No, actually. The Sengoyu turned him human," he frowned, "All of you look shocked. You didn't know? Return turned Jakata back into a Doll. He can become human again with the Sengoyu."

"But the first time…"

"He was still fighting off Switch, which affects Dolls differently than it would with us. The Sengoyu only made it worse, but in a way it did still save him. The next time he'll only have a mild fever and be drowsy for the next few days."

"Did it save him from the Hideous Tai Chi? Mishka tried using it on him."

Luva shook his head, "The Hideous Tai Chi is affected by our emotions. Dolls don't have the emotional level we do, so they're more or less immune to it."

"Ryong said when a Doll is revived it's basically an empty shell. What happened with Jakata?"

"The only thing explanation I can think of is that he remembered you."

Sora turned to him, "Why are Dolls forbidden, anyway?"

"A number of reasons. They're an easy resource for revivals, but they can be highly unstable. Revivals are dangerous because you're forcing a human soul into a form that can't handle human emotions and it needs the lives of many others, let alone the very high failure rate. I only created Jakata, his team and Finn because Diga needed me to. Iseul is the only one I know of that has successfully been able to complete several revivals. But the reason for that might be the Chil-heng still exist and Mishka is their Guardian, Mari is close to him, and the other—"

" _Mari?" Luka asked._

Sora turned to Ave, "Didn't Mishka confirm Mari is the Tigeroid from the story Torah told us?"

He nodded, "Iseul tried to revive her. I heard it went wrong, but I think that was from him trying to make her more human, so…"

"How does he even remember her? Jakata still can't remember that much."

Jakata looked at her, pouting, "Hey…"

Luva answered, "The difference is that Mishka used to be real, so his attachment to Mari was a lot stronger, even after he died twice. She never betrayed him. He was only trying to save her and the Chil-heng from the Hybrids."

Rai blinked a few times, "So he only wanted to become strong so he could go back for her?"

Luva nodded, "Iseul revived her to manipulate him."

Jakata frowned, "You told Yanima not to attack."

"I didn't want to, but if I wouldn't have he would have killed you and Ave."

"Why did Iseul capture you?" Rai asked.

"I would have interfered too easily, and I know a lot more about Dolls than he does. He held me captive for about two years."

"Why didn't you try to escape?"

"He would have either found me again or captured someone that would have helped him. I left out the information he needed. I also told Ryong to bring the other Dolls here before they died."

Rai frowned, "Why?"

"I wanted them to live a little longer. Ryong could take their reverted forms back and the time line wouldn't have changed much."

"Even with their longer lives?"

"I didn't know it would last this long. I am going to give Yanima the choice between dying here or when Finn defeated him."

Finn twitched. Hesitantly, he said, "I want to talk to Luva and Ryong."

"Alone?" Sena asked, "Okay," she turned to Jahara, "Is Ryong still talking to Luka?"

"He was. He's coming here now."

Sena nodded and turned to Finn, "When you're done we can talk about what you wanted to ask me."

"I need to ask Jahara and Luka a favor," Luva said, "Finn can stay if he wants to."

Everyone else nodded and left. Finn went outside into the hall, staying near the doorway.

"Is something wrong?" Jahara asked.

"I'm sure you remember Kyu…," Luva looked up, "He was the only real Rogue, and his name was Jun… he was my brother."

Jahara looked down, "I'm so sorry…"

"This will be a lot to ask, but could you look after Brave?"

* * *

Ave waited for Ryong in the hallway, "You already took the Sengoyu and brought it back, didn't you?"

Ryong twitched, "Well, if Luka is going to ask Mishka than he'd already know about it…"

"Did you at least tell anyone you left?"

"It would have only been for a few hours and it was before anyone would wake up."

Ave cringed, "You left during the night again…" he sighed, "Leon, you know how Mom will react when she finds out…"

"She won't if you don't tell her."

"I can't promise that."

Ryong frowned at him, "Then I'll just have to hope you don't remember this conversation in ten years," he sighed, "I can't say much, but be careful in about a few years, Oniisan."

Ave nodded, "If I don't see you before you leave, do you have any advice for your younger self?"

* * *

"Hey." Luka glanced up from the book he was reading to see Rai, standing in the doorway, smiling very smugly. "Jahara told us. She said you react _very_ interestingly to the word _pregnant_ ," the smile vanished when Luka didn't react, "Uh… Jahara's pregnant. She's pregnant. _I'm pregnant!_ "

At that very moment Ara and Sena walked past and stopped. Ara looked him up and down, "Better you than me."

Rai glanced back and forth, his face bright red, "I…uh… I… have to talk to Sora or somebody... yeah…" he backed away, smiling widely.

Luka looked back at his book, "It won't work, Ara."

"For now," she and Sena walked down the hall again, "Do you want it trimmed?"

Sena played with her hair, "By about half an inch."

"It's been almost three months and Rai still hasn't noticed your hair hasn't grown out…"

"I'm still deciding what his punishment is. He said it can be anything I want."

"It'll have to be something big. He basically has done something bad enough to everyone and how they want revenge."

They stopped, turned to each other, and slowly smiled.

* * *

Luva and Ryong didn't respond at first, thinking over what Finn said.

"Are you sure?" Ryong asked, "Dolls can survive fatal falls and attacks, and when they've bonded they have a much longer life span."

"I don't know if you'll stay a Tigeroid or become a Hybrid," Luva said.

"I don't care," Finn said.

* * *

"I at least helped," Rai said.

Ara didn't look at all impressed, "So? Luka and Torah almost died. You were saving Mishka."

"Exactly. He defeated Iseul, so therefor I helped. Can't you at least thank me by kissing me on the cheek?"

"Fine, but if you turn your head so I kiss you on the lips I will punch you in the gut and then kick you."

Rai moved away, "I don't need a kiss from you."

Ara turned to Ave, "Did he help at all?"

"He fought Yanima. I was there up until they went to find the Chil-heng."

"I fought Mishka," Rai said, "Sure, he only fought back in self-defense…"

Ara sighed and slowly shook her head, "Why do I even like you?"

Miya laughed softly.

"Miya!" Jae and Eun ran over. "We just heard from Jahara. Are you all right?"

Miya nodded, "I should be fine in a few days. Ave's parents are healers, too, and they might know what's wrong," she turned to Ave, "These are Jae and Eun… Ave?"

Ave stared at the twins, his face white, almost looking like he was about to cry. It took a few seconds for the twins to respond.

"…Oppa…" Eun said. She and Jae went to hug him.

Rai watched, tearing up, "Group hug!" he joined them.

* * *

"So you were affected by Time?" Jae asked some time later, sitting across the table. Eun sat next to him.

Ave nodded, "My memories were erased. I grew up on Earth."

"Hehe, we're older than you."

"Who adopted you?"

"Kari did," Eun said, "Originally Aidan was going to, but he was stressed from trying to find Miya's family and everything else that was going on. Kari didn't have any kids at the time, so it all worked out."

"Where were you when…" he hesitated.

"Visiting Aidan. Of course back then we didn't know what happened to Aidan's sister."

"Was it Kari that renamed you?"

"Well," Jae said, "Jae and Eun sound really close to Jace and Rune."

Eun smiled softly, "I wonder what would have happened nine years ago if you would have let yourself get captured. Maybe we would have met back then."

Miya nodded, "Iris would have made sure of it."

Sora watched from the doorway and looked up at Griffin, "Should we tell them about their family?"

"I think it's a little too early for that. Just let them be for now. Maybe someday we'll take them there."

Sora followed Griffin away, "How long are we staying?"

"Until Luka heals enough to travel again. Torah is going to stay here for a while, and Mishka can't leave until he's fully recovered, physically and mentally."

"That's going to take a long time."

"Well," Griffin turned to her, "Anyone would eventually lose it if they couldn't go back to save the one they loved, wouldn't they?"

Nine months later

"Do we know what she chose yet?" Jahara asked, "Jakata has been quiet today."

"Not yet," Luka said.

They stood on the porch, watching as Jakata and Terra sat leaning against a tree. Terra dozed against Jakata's shoulder. According to Gherba, this was around the time Terra would start to become unstable unless she decided to become real.

Jahara adjusted their sleeping two-month old son, Garnia, in her arms. Unlike Yuna, Garnia didn't have the color or texture of his parents hair, or even the eye colors. Instead he had inherited his brown hair and hazel eyes from his grandmother, Shirona.

"Did Ara steal your towel again?"

Luka stopped towel-drying his hair, "Probably." The towel he was using was pink. He was _sure_ he had taken his duck towel in with him. This had been the only one left…. He frowned over at the other side of the porch, where Ara, Rai, Tori, Sora and Griffin were talking to Torah and his fiancée. Ara looked over and smiled knowingly, waving. Donha wasn't with them, instead he was showing Yuna and Brave how to water flowers.

Griffin was distracted, often looking over at Sena and Finn. Since Finn had become real he had grown and was close to Sena's height now. Sena brushed a dead leaf off of her sweater, getting her hand caught for a second. As they walked past Rai looked her up and down, "Wait. Something is different. Is that a new sweater?"

Sena sighed, "No."

Rai took a step back, "Please don't slap me again. The diamond cut me last time," he glared at Finn, "You choose it on purpose."

At that moment Phoebe came out of the house, carrying a few drinks, "He still hasn't noticed Sena is keeping her hair short?" she walked over to Jakata and Terra.

Griffin looked over at Ave and Miya. Ave sat on one of the steps while Miya was at the bottom, in the wheelchair Ave had gotten for her eight months earlier. Griffin hesitantly walked over to Luka, "Luka… well… I… wanted to… I've seen how…"

"Griffin," Luka turned to him, "Keep it simple. I don't need Sora and Jakata to compete over flashy rings."

Griffin smiled and nodded, "Um… Thank you." He went back to the others.

Jahara turned to Luka, "What?"

"Rai is the only one that things Jakata will propose to Phoebe."

"How are you so sure Phoebe will propose?"

"Next week will be one year since Jakata was revived. If she can fully train the puppy I'm going to give her than she can propose. I need to apologize to her somehow for upsetting her."

"She probably forgot it by now. And have you thought about what happens if Rai is right?"

"Ara took care of that."

"I don't want to know."

Luka glanced over at Ave and Miya, "I think Ara plotted with them."

Ave spoke to Miya, likely about medical studies. Although his face was a light red and he traced a finger back and forth over the base of Miya's ring finger. Miya hugged him, nodding.

Luka stared and turned to Jahara, "…Jahara…?"

She smiled and nodded. She looked over at the bridge, where Mishka and Mari were.

"He's a lot happier now."

"He used to be like that."

"Is it because of Mari?"

"Possibly," Luka finished towel-drying his hair, letting the towel hang around his shoulders, "Gherba said he's not sure if those revived have different life spans than a regular Doll. They can stay here if they have to."

Jahara watched with wide-eyes as he left. She turned to Ara as she walked over. "Is that supposed to happen?"

"Only when you switch the shampoo for super-strength hair-dye," she didn't even blink when Luka yelled, "Honestly, I didn't think he would look that good with pink hair."

"Will it wash out?"

"It will be easier if he just cuts it or lets it grow out," she hesitated, "If it can."

In the nine long months Mishka had spent recovering he had regained most of his memories, both from when he had been the Guardian and when he was a Doll for the first time. He didn't know if it was this time or the time over twenty ago he had tried sending the Chil-heng to, but he wouldn't have changed that decision. Mari was safe, and that was what mattered.

He had remained in a sleep-like state between the realms of life and death twice, barely aware of what had went on around him or how long it had been since he had last been alive. Only one thing kept him there: The desire for revenge on the ones that had taken Mari away from him.

END

* * *

 **Human was posted early enough in the morning so that the publish and update dates would match here and in South Korea. Tai Chi Chasers originally ran from April 29** **th** **2007 to January 20** **th** **2008\. Human was posted January 27** **th** **2016 – April 20** **th** **2016\. Next week will be Tai Chi Chaser's ninth birthday. Human is, literally, based eight years after Tai Chi Chasers ended.**


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